Fate's Four
by WTFFanfic
Summary: Follow Harry, Hermione, and some new faces through their epic journey and lives in a world filled with more magic, greater adventures, romance, and much-much more! Mature/adult Content. Lemon. Multi. AU.
1. Book1: Chapter 1

****PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE SERIES****

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 _Welcome to Fate's Four! Now before you dive into the story there are a few things I would like you to take note of. First is my profile page. On there I have posted series notes, images, and further information on the series as a whole. As well there will always be different polls running there that will help influence the story depending on how people vote. I recommend that you check it out._

 _The second thing is that I ask you to please please please leave a review and favorite/follow if you enjoy or don't enjoy the story. You have no idea how much each review means, even if it is a short one. I am very easily influenced by reviews, and the more I see the more inspired I am to knock out an allnighter of writing. Also if you leave a comment please check your account PM inbox occasionally. I like to reply and have chats with my readers and many of you have great suggestions and feedback that make a major difference in the story._

 _I also want to let everyone know that there is a forum for this series. The link to the forum page can be found on my profile page. I encourage anyone interested in the series to go check it out and feel free to post to your heart's content on there. I get a lot of PM's suggesting cool ideas, asking good questions, and debating certain things throughout the story. Instead of having all these things privately in my inbox I would like for everyone who reads this series to have access to the same things. So please go check out the forum and start up a conversation, debate, or topic! I look forward to seeing what you have to say!_

 _Thank you and enjoy!_

 ***********MUST READ FOR NEW READERS BEFORE STARTING! MUST READ FOR NEW READERS BEFORE STARTING************************

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 **Due to messages and reviews from a few new readers to the series I wanted to leave this quick disclaimer to hopefully clear some things before you jump into the story.**

 **1\. This an AU story-meaning things will be different then they were in the books or films. Do not assume that Harry, Hermione, or other characters would act the same, do the same things, or be at the same skill levels as the book or films. This applies to the plot as well, don't assume things will happen in the same order or the same way.**

 **2\. This is not an OP character story. As you get further into the series you will learn that my Hogwarts is a little different than the canon Hogwarts. Because of this characters may seem weaker or stronger than in canon. The power levels in my story are different than canon. Meaning even though a character might seem strong, you maybe don't know how strong he is in this world yet.**

 **3\. Yes this is a varying perspective fanfic. The story will switch between four different perspectives throughout the series. The four perspectives will be of the four main characters. You can tell who the chapter is about by looking at the top of each chapter for a Character title if you need to. I am aware that many people are not fans of this style(so you don't have to message me and tell me!) but if you have ever read series like Game of Thrones, Lord of The Rings, and many other famous series you will know that sometimes it is needed and more effective in a character driven story. So sorry if its not your cup of tea, but I suspect if you get a few chapters in you might change your mind.**

 **4\. Early on in the series there are some OC characters introduced right out of the gates. I understand many of you are looking for familiar characters right off the back but, again, have no fear, your favorite characters are in this series(Just look at Chapter 2 lol). As an avid Fanfic reader I have the belief that OC characters are only ever done well when a sufficient amount of time is spent introducing them and developing them. So again, early on there will be some new faces getting some limelight so you can get to know them.**

 **5\. If you have questions or need clarification please just message me!**

 **6\. I also recently made a twitter if you want to follow me to discuss the story/series further, ask questions, or just banter! Follow me at OseRSFanfic**

October 31, 1981

He lowered his wand as the last lamp lining the main street of Godric's Hollow was extinguished, leaving the previously illuminated shrouded in a blanket of darkness. As he left the cover of the shadows in which he had been waiting impatiently, nothing could be seen except for the small number of softly glowing windows of the houses lining the street's sides.

He made his way methodically along the stone sidewalk, passing a few more houses as he headed towards the large white cottage which had not been there during his last visit to Godric's Hollow.

"Again I have managed to best you, old man," he said with a victorious smile as he stopped and turned to face the house's small white gate.

There, through the home's front window he could see the blood-traitor family he had come to. . . _visit_. A brown-haired man, stood leaning against a wall with his back to the window and the world outside. The man appeared to be talking to a woman, who was rocking slowly in a large wooden chair, her eyes never leaving the little child in her arms. The child, in its mother's arms, was reaching up into the air, seemingly trying to grasp its mother's long auburn hair, which was only just out of its reach. The man and woman seemed to find amusement in this and both of them smiled and laughed each time the child's hands reached upwards. The sight made him sick.

"They have no idea," he said to no one but himself, the devilish grin once again growing on his face. He pulled his hood off his head and with a quick swipe of his hand unlocked the front gate, making his way up the cobblestone path to the front door. Before entering, he reached into the pocket of his robes and withdrew his wand. With his wand raised, he blasted through the door and quickly made his way into the house. Upon his entry, the woman's screams immediately filled the air.

" _Crucio!_ " He screamed the familiar curse as soon as he entered the home. He pointed his wand at the man, who had turned and attempted to pull his wand from his pants pocket. The man was too slow though, and failed in his attempt to defend himself. He was hit by the curse and forced by the magic to collapse onto the floor. The man's body stretched and curled uncontrollably in the indescribable agony of the torture spell that had been cast on him. The man's agonizing screams of pain and the women's hollow screams of terror were all that could be heard inside the house in Godric's Hollow. It was truly a beautiful sound.

"Please stop! Take anything you want! Stop hurting him, please!" The women begged through tears as she clutched the small child closer to her chest, as if that would be enough to protect him.

"L-lily! C-c-cover H-Harry in i-it a-and r-run!" the man stuttered out between screams of pain.

"Silence, you fool! _Crucio!_ " he spat and intensified his curse on the man.

"James! Please stop!" The woman again screamed out in fear as her husband began to thrash around even more violently, only a few feet away.

"Quiet, you filthy mudblood! I am the greatest and most powerful wizard of all time! I can take anything I want! And you blood-traitors _will_ give me what I want! _Crucio!"_ He cast the second torture curse at the women and she immediately began to writhe and thrash around in pain, just like her husband. As her thrashing worsened she dropped the child to the floor as she fell from out of the rocking chair, joining her husband on the floor He couldn't stop the smile that came as he watched the two of them twisting and writhing on the floor together.

"You fools thought you could hide from _me_?" he mocked them as he stalked towards the child on the floor.

He had been waiting for this moment for over six months now. Ever since he had been told of the prophecy by his servant Peter, who had been the Potter family's _friend_ , he had been planning this. He had never taken the subject of divination or prophecies seriously, still, he would not risk having his life's work and plans thwarted due to his own ignorance. Better to play things safe. Since Peter had informed him that the family was hiding under the _fidelius_ charm, he had ordered Peter to find a way to become the Potter's secret keeper.

The blood traitor Sirius Black had been the family's first secret keeper. However, he was easily able to manipulate that situation to work in his favor. Using his control of certain ministry personnel, he had the Daily Prophet print rumors about Sirius Black, fueling speculation that he was at last following the traditional dark path of his family and joining the Death Eaters.

Obviously, he would never have let a blood-traitor like Sirius Black join him, but just starting the rumors made it all too easy. Peter went to Dumbledore and suggested the change of secret keepers, just to be on the safe side in light of the rumors. After five months of his servant's usual endless failures, Peter had finally succeeded, for once.

The child on the floor began to cry more loudly from inside the dark black cloak, in which it was wrapped. The noise pulled him from his thoughts. The time to gloat and reminisce was over. It was time to finish what he had come for. He moved the black cloak covering the child aside, off the child's face, allowing him a clear look at his victim. He stalled a moment, enjoying the frightened look on the child's face and savoring its screams and cries before he raised his wand.

"Harry Potter. . . Time to die. _Avada kedavra!"_ The green light shot forth from the tip of his wand towards the child. The child's cries turned to screams upon impact. However, before a victorious smile could even begin to form on his face, the green light shooting from his wand began to change direction, just as it hit the small child.

His wand began to emit smoke and jagged cracks formed along its shaft. The green light from his killing curse crept backwards onto itself and up the wand towards his hand. Before he could cut the curse off, his wand shattered and the curse, with nowhere else to go, shot backwards towards him. He took the full brunt of the curse and went flying backwards. As he collided with the wall behind him and fell to the ground the bright, green-lit world which surrounded him began to fade into gray and black.

As his world faded into darkness, the agony and pain left the previously cursed man and woman on the floor. Their senses slowly adjusted and the first thing they saw, only a few feet away, was the cloaked man who had entered their home. He exploded into green flames on the floor, only with a loud, hollow sounding scream.

When the bright green flames and loud screams disappeared from the room, the world inside the small home in Godric's Hollow was silent. The only sound that could be heard was the whimpering of the small child.

The child who was, somehow, still alive.

Marik

August 15, 1991

Marik Ose had never been more anxious a day in his life than he was today. Over the past week he had slept hardly more than two or three hours at most each night, and last night he had even managed to not fall asleep for a mere measly minute. Normally the lack of sleep would be a bad thing and a damper on his spirits, however, the small amount of sleep he had gotten this week was not a bad thing at all, in fact, it was quite the opposite. He was certainly tired, and he was currently yawning at an average rate of three-yawns-per-minute, but none of that mattered. Nothing in the world could get him down today. After all, today was finally the day he would be getting his first chance to see the wizarding world up close and in person, and he had absolutely no idea what to expect.

It had been exactly a week since Marik and his family had received the life-changing news. Exactly a week from the day that Marik knew would definitely go down as single-handedly the greatest day of his life. That day had started off as just the average, typical bad school day for Marik Ose, but it had quickly shifted into undoubtedly the most abnormal day of his life.

Marik had been adopted at the age of two by his parents, Alden and Aubrey Ose. Alden Ose was an officer in the United States Army and had been stationed for some time in New York City. It was there where he had met and married Marik's mother and the two of them had decided to adopt a child. Marik had lived up to his sixth birthday in New York City. After his sixth birthday, though his family had not lived in the same country or city for more than a year at a time, always seeming to move on to the next place just as he started to actually get settled in.

Marik had turned eleven in November of last year and his family, shortly after his birthday, had been ordered to move from their previous stationing in Cairo, Egypt to the city of London in the United Kingdom. So again, just like the many times before, Marik was forced to leave his school, house, and if he had actually had any, friends behind.

London had been the worst of the places he had lived in so far. Because he was always moving Marik would not deny the fact that he had quickly become a loner. After all, it was pointless for him to attempt to try and make friends when he moved to someplace new, especially when he knew everything had an expiration date of around a year on it. His only friends had been either made up, his parents, or his books.

While he would have obviously killed to have some real friends his age, being a loner and keeping to himself was something that he had gotten used to and normally was not a problem. He had more than grown used to it by now. However, to his classmates in London being a loner and someone who kept to their books was a problem and they all made it their life's mission every single day to make Marik aware that it was a big problem. That day, a week ago, in school had been no different.

Marik had started his day off at school sitting quietly at his desk in class, reading ahead in one of his books, just like he did every day. While he was reading ahead his teacher rambled on about some _new_ formula and some _difficult_ equation that Marik had already learned. As always Marik had sat in silence, not bothering anyone else, and just trying to keep to himself and get his work done. However, that day, as usual, Dudley Dursley had made keeping to himself an impossible feat.

Dudley Dursley was a large, and by large he meant fat, a boy in his class who had made it clear to Marik that being smart and reading books was apparently a very bad thing. Everyone else in the class did exactly what Dudley did, or said to do, which meant that since Dudley picked on Marik, everyone else in the class picked on Marik. Marik assumed Dudley had it out for anyone who could read due to the highly likely possibility that Dudley still did not know how to read, although Marik had yet to confirm that.

Marik had been in the next chapter of his algebra book when the teacher had asked him to answer a question that apparently, to no surprise to him, Dudley had answered incorrectly moments earlier. Of course, Marik knew the answer to the question right away; after all, he had not made less than an A- on every test in the class so far. Marik prided himself on being at the top of his classes wherever he lived. His mother had tutored him no matter where they lived growing up and seeing her proud smile at his good grades was one of the few times no matter where he lived that actually made him happy.

So no matter where he lived, his grades were one of his highest priorities. However, living in London with people like Dudley, for even the short period of time that he had, began to quickly change his mentality. For people like Dudley, having good grades meant you needed to be punched. So as he answered the teacher's question correctly he knew he was about to be in for a world of trouble from Dudley.

As soon as the teacher had turned around back to her chalkboard to explain the next problem, Dudley, from his seat directly in front of Marik, had apparently decided that Marik's beatdown would happen then and there, instead of after class. Dudley had immediately turned around in his seat and pushed all of Marik's books off of his desk and onto the ground, scattering his notes and materials all across the floor. The students all around him had just snickered in response, like they normally did, as they watched Dudley pick on him. Apparently, after having decided that Marik needed more punishment, Dudley had uncapped Marik's water bottle and emptied its contents onto Marik, drenching him and his clothing in his own cold water. Not wanting to get in trouble with the teacher for interrupting the class, Marik just sat there and took it, bottling up his anger and waiting until Dudley had decided that he had had enough fun and turned around.

That was when the first strange thing of the day took place. Marik had collected his books and materials from the floor and had resumed sitting quietly at his desk as he had been before. Only now with his uniform soaked and most of his notes crumpled and torn. After a few minutes of sitting there drenched in the water, he had started to get cold. As his body started to shiver he had wished to himself that his clothes would hurry up and just dry off already. That's when it happened.

As soon as the thought had left his head his clothes had somehow magically dried themselves off and felt as warm as they did fresh out of the dryer. It had taken all the self-control he had in him to not shout out in shock as he examined his uniform. Sure enough, as he had looked them over he had found that they had indeed somehow managed to dry themselves off, almost like magic, which at the time had seemed impossible.

Marik's mind from there had immediately started racing with a flurry of thoughts, all wondering at how this had happened. He looked around the room to see if maybe he was under a vent, or if the air in the room had turned on recently. Nothing he saw had helped him come to a reasonable conclusion though. He had been sitting nowhere near the vent, and all of the fans in the room had been still turned off.

Over the rest of the lesson all of his thoughts had been entirely on trying to figure out how his clothes had randomly dried themselves off, nothing he thought of made sense logically though. As the final bell rang and signaled the end of the school day the only conclusion he had managed to come by was that his clothes had dried off, because he had wished them to dry off, which he had admitted to himself at the time, was impossible. This was when the second strange thing of the day happened.

Dudley had apparently felt that Marik deserved one more bout of punishment before they both went home for the day. Without warning just as the rest of the class had started to stand up and leave for home, Dudley turned around and punched him hard square in the chest. Following impact with Dudley's fist, Marik had fallen to the floor, coughing uncontrollably, as all the air had been knocked out of his body. All around him students were laughing at him as he had hunched over and gasped desperately for air. All Marik could do was wish that the pain would go away, and Dudley would get some payback for all he did one day.

That's when the second weird thing happened. All of the sudden the air had returned to his lungs and the pain in his chest had gone away. At the same time, all of the laughs in the room had turned to screams of panic. As he had looked up from his spot on the floor he had seen that Dudley's desk had randomly exploded into a towering spire of bright red and black flames. The entire classroom had jumped from their seats at the sight, screaming in fright as the flames roared intensely and filled the classroom with light and smoke. Marik had just stared from his spot on the floor, his jaw agape at the sight and wondering if again he had made this happened just by wishing it.

After a few seconds, the raging fire in the classroom had died down and the chaos of the classroom died down with it. Marik had still been stuck on the floor in an awe-struck daze, staring at the desk where the flames had been only moments before. He was only woken from his daze when his teacher had pulled him up from the floor and dragged him off to the principal's office. It was in the principal's office that Marik had learned that Dudley had told the teacher that Marik had been the one to start the fire in the classroom, and somehow the teacher had believed this to be true. Marik had, of course, attempted to argue against this, but deep down he couldn't help but shake the notion that he had in fact somehow been responsible for starting the fire and his mind was too busy racing to put much effort into his argument.

Following class and his meeting with the principal during the entire trip back home Marik's mind had been deep in thought of the day's random events, wondering how the weird things that had happened in class had actually happened. When he had made it home he had taken a moment outside their front door to mentally prepare himself for an ' _I'm-disappointed-in-you'_ lecture from his mother. His teacher had called his home after meeting with the principal not only telling his mother that he had received a B+ on the last test, which he had gotten on purpose to avoid another beating from Dudley's fist, but also that he would have detention for the next week because of the desk-on-fire incident. Instead of walking into a lecture of disappointment from his mother though he had walked into the both of his parents sitting in their living room with an odd looking older man.

The man had been strange looking, to say the least, resembling somewhat of a Gandalfian appearance if Marik had to best describe him. The mysterious man sitting on his family's sofa had been dressed in an eloquent looking set of bright purple robes that were dotted with a pattern of bright golden stars that seemed to almost twinkle whenever the man had moved. The man's beard had been the longest beard Marik had ever seen and stretched all the way down to the man's belt buckle, rivaling the lengths of beards the Dwarves from his fantasy stories even had.

Nothing about the man had looked normal to Marik. Even the man's spectacles had seemed to be different somehow and the glass lenses had appeared to be some sort of crystal instead of normal glass. After Marik had managed to collect himself from staring at the strange sight the man posed the odd looking man had introduced himself to Marik as Albus Dumbledore. He had gone on to tell Marik and his parent's that he was the Headmaster of a school called Hogwarts, which was a school of witchcraft and wizardry.

At first, Marik had thought it was all an elaborate joke but as Albus Dumbledore began to explain further he slowly came to the realization that he was being completely serious. He and his family were told that there were two separate worlds living together. One world was filled with those of magic, and the other filled with what Dumbledore called _muggles_. Apparently, Marik's parents were muggles and Marik was a wizard. His father had not liked being called a muggle, whether it was offensive or not.

Marik had still been skeptical, though, even with hearing everything Albus Dumbledore told him. A world of magic just seemed too good to be true, like something out of one of his fantasy books. It wasn't until Albus Dumbledore proved it to him and his family, that Marik finally had believed all he said to be true. Albus Dumbledore took out a weird looking white stick that had grooves all over it from one of the many pockets of his robes and twirled it around gracefully in the air. As soon as he had stopped moving the stick around Marik's mind had been completely blown. The teacup Albus Dumbledore had been holding had somehow turned itself into a bouquet of flowers, much to the surprise of Marik and his family.

Albus Dumbledore with a small bout of laughter had helped Marik and his family regain their composure after seeing magic for the first time. When all jaws had been successfully retrieved from their spots on the ground Albus Dumbledore had told Marik the five greatest words he had ever heard in his life, _you're a wizard Marik Ose._ It had been at that exact moment that Marik had accepted all the man said to be true and immediately wanted to know how he could learn how to do that teacup-bouquet trick along with everything else magic related.

After a very long conversation with Albus Dumbledore, Marik learned that people like him raised in non-magic families were unaware that they were witches or wizards until around their tenth and eleventh birthdays. Most only found out when they received an invitation to a witchcraft and wizarding school, which was why Marik was only just now finding all of this out. From some more of his questions to the Headmaster, he had also discovered that all of the strange things like Dudley's desk catching on fire, his clothes drying on their own, and his pain disappearing after being punched were bouts of accidental magic. It was through these bouts of accidental magic that Albus Dumbledore had discovered that Marik was a wizard.

At first, his parents had been skeptical of the man and everything he said, even after seeing him perform magic before their very eyes. After all, Marik's father was about as hard-headed as a person could get, and convincing him of anything as strange as all this was almost an impossible feat. However, after a while of talking to Dumbledore, and mainly when his parent's learned that his magic could become dangerous and even deadly if he did not learn to control it, his parents had agreed reluctantly that Marik could attend the school.

Marik had again asked one more time just to make absolutely sure if they were all honestly being serious about all of this and confirmed that this was in fact not just an elaborate prank on him before he allowed the excitement to sink in. After Albus Dumbledore and his parent's confirmed it all again to be very much real it was impossible for Marik to control his jubilance. He found himself from that moment on to be in a nonstop rush of excitement, fueled by anticipation to know everything about this new magical world.. Unfortunately, though, Albus Dumbledore told him that his questions would have to be saved for another day as he had to go greet many more new students and their families.

Before leaving Dumbledore had left him with a book titled: _Introduction to the World of Magic_ that explained a little more about the wizarding world and would answer many more of Marik's questions. Albus Dumbledore also gave them all the notification that in exactly one week's time a professor from the school would come to gather them and take them to Diagon Alley, a wizarding town in London, to get his school supplies, as well as anything else he may need for the upcoming school year.

And after Marik had waited for what to him had felt like a few hundred years that day was finally here, and from looking at the clock on his nightstand a few feet away, it appeared that at last, it was finally just about that time. Reaching over to the nightstand Marik picked up the small picture frame containing the framed letter Dumbledore had given him that day a week ago. His acceptance letter to Hogwarts had immediately become the most prized possession that Marik owned, and he had found himself rereading the letter countless times over the past week, each time to make sure that this was all not a very detailed dream. Marik pinched himself lightly on his forearm to again make sure this was, in fact, all real.

 _It really still is real._ He thought with a smile to himself as he read the letter one more time.

 **HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF**

 **WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

 **Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme

Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

 _Dear Mr. Ose,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

 _Term begins on 1 September. We await confirmation of your acceptance by no later than 31 July._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

 _Headmaster_

After allowing himself another few moments to take in the letter and the excitement and anxiety it created inside him each time he read it, Marik carefully set down the picture frame again and got up from his bed. After a well-needed stretch he quickly made his way downstairs, jumping two steps at a time, to his family's dining room where he grabbed his usual seat at the table. As usual, as soon as he sat down he picked up a breakfast roll from the basket at the table's center and began dipping it in some butter as he sat there waiting anxiously for a knock on their door.

The book Dumbledore had given him lay open on his lap, where it had basically been glued to for the past week. He had only stopped reading it and put it down sparingly at his parents' request, finding it impossible to not reread over and over again. It was impossible to not want to learn more about the magical world he would soon be a part of, and each time he read the book it only seemed to make his curiosity worse, creating two new questions where there had previously only been one. This current read through this morning would be his fourth he believed if he had counted correctly.

"Marik son, stop shaking your leg so damn much you are spilling my coffee!" his father announced, sounding annoyed as he wiped up a puddle of coffee from the table.

"Sorry dad, I'm just excited and nervous!" he said, apologizing half-heartedly.

"Really? You are excited? Did you hear that honey? Marik is excited! We hadn't been able to tell with you not shutting up about it for a second over the past week," his father said sarcastically, earning a slap on the back of his head from his mother. Marik rolled his eyes at the sight.

"How much longer until the professor gets here do you think?" Marik asked his parents, knowing full well they knew just as much as he did.

"Albus said sometime shortly after breakfast time, so it could be any minute now I guess," his mother answered from her side of the table. Just as his mother finished her sentence there was a loud knocking on the door.

"I WILL GET IT!" he shouted in excitement as he ran to the front door at full speed, knocking his chair over in the process. As he arrived at the door, he allowed himself a quick second to catch his breath before he opened the door. The door swung open revealing an older, not very friendly looking woman. The woman looked to be around fifty or so years old and had a scowl that could scare even the bravest man. She was dressed in a set of dark green robes that looked somewhat similar to what Dumbledore had been wearing. Unlike Dumbledore's bright colored robes this woman's robes were much simpler looking and did not have a pattern adorning them. If Marik had not seen Dumbledore wearing attire somewhat similar a week ago he would have for sure thought the woman standing in front of him was crazy.

"Ah, you must be young Mister Marik I presume?" He nodded nervously as she extended her hand out. He reached his own hand out and shook it. "I am Minerva McGonagall, but you can call me _Professor_ McGonagall," the professor added as they finished shaking hands. If McGonagall was any indication of what the rest of the professors looked like at Hogwarts, Marik could imagine the school being very strict. He already felt like he needed to behave himself just standing in the presence of the woman's glare and school year had not even started yet.

"So you are going to be one of my teachers at Hogwarts then? What subject is it that you teach?" Marik asked his future professor excitedly, wanting to know everything he could.

"Yes Mr. Ose you are correct, I will be your transfiguration professor at Hogwarts," McGonagall responded with a smile. The woman's smile looked like it did not belong on her face but seemed to be friendly and earnest enough.

"What is transfiguration?" Marik asked curiously, not having heard the word before. He had come up with so many questions throughout the week while he read the book Dumbledore gave him and her introduction had only added a few questions to his list.

"I will be more than willing to answer that question as well as all of your other questions today Mr. Ose, but I am afraid we are on a bit of a tight schedule and must be off quickly. Are your parents ready?" McGonagall asked him, looking at a golden pocket watch chained to one of the pockets of her robes.

"Yes ma'am they are, I will go get them now," Marik answered the professor and went back into the dining room to get his parents and basically dragged them outside the house to where the professor was waiting for them.

After his parent's exchanged pleasantries with Professor McGonagall she explained to them that they would be traveling via an enchanted car to first pick up another family like his, and would then be headed to Diagon Alley. After all of the small travel details had been explained Professor McGonagall led them all to a small two-seater silver Volkswagen parked in their house's driveway. His parents seemed to be just as confused as he was when the professor opened one of the doors to the car, all of them probably wondering how they were to all fit inside the small car.

"Woah!" was all he managed to get out as he and his family all climbed inside what they had thought to be a _small_ car. On the inside though, the car was anything but small. The interior of the car was more like a limo than a two-seater. Lining both sides of the car were two long rows of seats and the center of the car had a large table stretching from end to end with all sorts of odd colored drinks and bottles scattered about. He and his family slowly found a seat at the far end of the car next to Professor McGonagall and before they had a chance to even get used to what was happening the car lunged forward and they were off.

They made a short drive from his family's home to a nearby neighborhood in London where they picked up the Granger family, whose daughter Hermione had also just like him found out that she was a witch.

As soon as the Hermione girl had introduced herself to everyone inside the _small_ two-door car she began firing off questions one after another. Marik had to admit that he was impressed with all of the questions the Hermione girl was asking Professor McGonagall, a majority of them were questions that not even he had thought of over the past week. She had apparently read the book that they had been given by Dumbledore even more than the four times he had read it through he judged from the multitude of things she was asking that he did not even remember reading. Hermione, he found out, was the same age as him, and through one of her questions he learned that most students attending Hogwarts in their year would be around eleven or twelve years old, so around the same age as them.

As Hermione asked all of her questions he took mental notes of all the answers Professor McGonagall gave her. While the professor talked and answered Hermione's questions he also observed the first witch his age he had ever knowingly met. Hermione had dark chocolate-brown eyes that matched her long brown hair that she wore straight down her back where it stopped a few inches under her shoulders. She was average height and build to most of the girls his age, and honestly if she had not been asking Professor McGonagall why witches and wizards needed a wand to cast magic she looked just like every other normal person he knew.

"Well Miss Granger I must admit the subject of wandlore is one that little is known about, but basically a wand connects with a witch or wizard and is used as a way to channel a witch's or wizard's magic," Professor McGonagall answered Hermione's question.

"So you can't do magic without a wand? But Dumbledore told me that I did accidental magic before, and without a wand too, so surely you can do some magic without one right?" Marik asked the professor, chiming in before Hermione could fire off another question. However, from the look on Hermione's face, she was interested in the answer to his question just as much as he was.

"Very good observation, Mr. Ose, if class were in session I might have awarded points to your house for that one," Professor McGonagall answered and continued her answer quickly, sensing that her response had brought up more question ideas from the pair of newly pronounced wizard and witch in the car. "There are types of magic that do not require a wand and many spells that can be cast wandlessly, but it is a very difficult thing to learn. Many people discover that they cannot master it at all."

"Do they teach wandless magic at Hogwarts?" Hermione followed up the professor's answer with another question.

"There is not a specific course on wandless magic, but there are some professors in the upper-level courses who cover the subject somewhat and might award extra points if a spell can be learned both with and without a wand," The professor answered Hermione and Marik made a mental note at the professor giving them a way to earn extra points. He would definitely take note of that. Magic school or not, extra points in schoolwork was like music to his ears.

Throughout the rest of the car ride, he learned a few different new things that had not been in the book Dumbledore had given him. Most of what Professor McGonagall explained to them went over his head, but he slowly began to grasp what certain things were and what other things she said might have meant. Although no matter how much the professor tried to explain what quidditch was it still made no sense at all to him.

He and Hermione were also told by Professor McGonagall that they would be getting their books, supplies, clothes, money, and wand today at Diagon Alley. She had also given both he and Hermione their class schedules for their first year and promised that the books they would be purchasing today would thoroughly explain what each subject was better than she could.

Looking over his class schedule Marik discovered that he would be taking six core classes and would have the option to pick one elective in his first year. The six core classes were charms, dark arts, herbology, history of magic, potions, and transfiguration. Even though he had his class schedule now, he still had absolutely no clue what any of the subjects listed actually were about.

At the bottom of the schedule, he was given were the books he would need for each class, along with a list of the possible electives that he would have to choose from. As a first year, it appeared that he would only have the choice between astronomy, divination, and spell creation. Professor McGonagall added as they read off the electives that they would have the choice to also take care of magical creatures, as well as ancient runes during their third year.

"So we _only_ have to take seven classes? I can't take any more than that?" Marik asked Professor McGonagall after finishing looking over his class schedule. He was disappointed that he would be limited to how many classes he could take, he wanted to know everything he could from all of the classes. Hermione looked at him with a slight drop of her jaw, as if she had seen a ghost, but then quickly looked towards the professor with a similar look of curiosity at his question.

"I can assure you, Mr. Ose, seven courses will be more than enough for you during your first year. However, during your third year if you are still feeling like seven courses are too few you will be able to add as many electives as you can fit into your schedule," McGonagall answered him, shaking her head, seemingly amused by his question.

"Good! I just want to learn everything I can about magic," he replied to the professor happily. The professor's answer seemed to bring as big a smile to his face as it did to Hermione's.

Marik wanted to take all of the classes he could. Just looking over the schedule alone he had no idea what half of the courses would even be about, and the curious part of him was already desperate to know everything he could about all of the subjects. He was sure Professor McGonagall was right when she said that seven classes would be enough for him his first year. After all, half the things she was telling him about magic were flying over his head, he could only imagine being in a classroom having to learn this stuff would be just as confusing to someone new to magic like him. It would probably be about as bad as his first year taking French had been, this all already felt like a new language to him.

As soon as he and Hermione finished looking over their schedules they began firing off even more questions at their future transfiguration professor, trying desperately to discover what each course they would soon be taking was about. Every answer the professor gave them seemed to create four more new questions for the both of them. Marik was simply left in awe of just how much he had to learn about magic the more the professor talked and at that prospect of being able to learn so much about magic and this new world he knew for a fact that he had never been more excited for school than he was now. As Hermione's and his questions seemed to finally slow down a little bit in their pace the car slowed down and pulled over to the side of a low-populated street and parked.

"If all of you would follow me and please try and stick close. Diagon Alley is never busier than the weeks just before school starts," McGonagall announced to their group and led them into a small pub across the street. Everyone else walking on the street that walked past the ragged looking pub seemed to think that it did not even exist. He admitted to himself that he honestly probably would have never even noticed the place either unless he had seen McGonagall walking towards it. It certainly didn't look like a place he would ever have thought he would be walking into.

"This is the Leaky Cauldron," The professor announced to the two families as they entered the pub. "It is the most common entrance into Diagon Alley for muggles to take. Come now, stay close," she announced to them again and continued to lead them towards the back of the pub.

In only a few seconds inside the world of magic Marik's mind was already blown. Throughout the pub, he could see at least fifteen different people, who all he assumed, were witches or wizards doing some sort of magic or using some sort of magical object.

He saw a waiter behind the bar pouring what looked like an odd-colored ale into one of the nearby glasses without even using her hands. In front of her two men were playing what looked like chess with pieces that seemed to move on their own around the board. Even the tables and floor seemed magical, as the tables cleaned themselves and a large broom swept the floor on its own. There was even a man who was as tall as at least three men and as wide as four sitting in the far corner. It was truly an amazing sight to behold. After basically dragging him and Hermione out of the bar and pulling them from their amazed dazes, Professor McGonagall led both of the families out the back of the pub into a small well-lit alleyway.

"Well, Dijon Alley sure is small!" Marik's father sarcastically joked, earning an elbow into his side from Marik's mother.

" _Diagon_ Alley is just up ahead," McGonagall said with a glare towards his father that rivaled any glare his father had probably ever been given in the military. "Miss Granger, Mr. Ose, please pay attention to this part, next time you come through here I will not be here to guide you," Professor McGonagall said to him and Hermione as she approached the large brick wall in front of them and took out what Marik assumed was her wand. She raised her wand up and proceeded to touch a series of bricks surrounding one of the bricks at around eye level that was a slightly lighter shade of red than the others around it.

"Left, left, right, up, down, down, down, left," he mumbled to himself trying to memorize the pattern, which ironically was the same as the cheat code for infinite magic in one of his Playstation games. As the professor touched the last brick with her wand the wall in front of the group started to move on its own. The bricks separated outwards from the center of the wall, leaving an archway where the wall had just been only moments prior, and revealing in its wake the most amazing place Marik had ever seen.

As Professor McGonagall led them through the archway down the wide street of Diagon Alley Marik's eyes didn't even know where to begin to look. There were hundreds of people walking around in colorful robes, pointed hats, and holding all sorts of creatures he had never seen before. He saw a man outside the first shop they passed who looked about his dad's age with his wand out changing the color of a little girl's robes from black to a vibrant pink. To his left in one of the other nearby shops, there was a group of young kids who were for some odd reason looking at a broom that looked like it was lined with gold trim.

On the other side of the street was a bookstore that Marik could see had books flying around the room, moving themselves from one shelf to another or into a customer's outstretched hands. The store beside it looked just as unbelievable and had enough weird looking objects in it reminded him of sort of a Frankenstein's lab. Hermione seemed to be as awestruck as he was as they continued to follow the professor down the street. Professor McGonagall led them down the main street, past many of the crowded stores, each one proving his internal claims of _nothing can beat that_ wrong each time, towards the tallest building in the center of the street that looked from the outside like a much bigger and magical version of his parent's bank.

"This is Gringotts Bank. Whenever you would like to convert your muggle money into the wizarding currency that your children will be able to use in Diagon Alley, among other places in our world, it will be done here." Professor McGonagall reached into her robes and pulled out two pieces of parchment and handed one to both Hermione's father and his father. "Headmaster Dumbledore has had an account and vault already set up for both of your families, so whenever you wish to transfer or store funds simply send a request to the address on that parchment and Gringotts will automatically transfer it from your muggle banks." McGonagall again reached into her robes and pulled out two small bags. "Here is the money that we pre-arranged to have transferred for your visit today," McGonagall stated as she handed Hermione and himself a bag each, "and if you would again follow me I think it is time we start getting your supplies. We should start with your wand."

From the bank, the professor led their group to a small nearby shop. The shop in comparison to all of the other vibrantly decorated shops along Diagon Alley looked like it was the blandest one on the alley. The only distinguishable feature was the shop's name printed on the window, _Ollivander's Wand Shop_. Other than that Marik thought the shop looked almost run down and abandoned.

As the group entered the shop Marik noted that the inside of the shop looked about as bland as the outside of the shop did. A thick layer of dust could be seen on every countertop throughout the store, and besides a few old-looking chairs positioned in the front of the store the only other feature that stood out in the shop were the rows and rows of shelves lining the floor behind the front counter. After McGonagall rang the bell on the store's counter an older looking man with a few remaining long strands of white hair, which only outlined the lack of hair on his head much more, approached the counter from somewhere in the back of the store.

"Ahh, Minerva McGonagall, it is always a pleasure. How is the the nine-inch fir and dragon heartstring holding up these days?" the man Marik assumed was Ollivander asked the professor.

"It is holding up quite well Ollivander, I have two first years for you today. This is. . ." McGonagall started to respond to the man before she was interrupted.

"I'm Hermione Granger sir!" Hermione enthusiastically told the man as she held out her hand and he shook it.

"I'm Marik Ose," Marik quickly added, following Hermione's lead reaching out and shaking the man's hand as well.

"Well, it is very nice to meet you both. Now, I'm sure you both must be anxious so let us see. Hmmm. . ." Ollivander went back into the rows of shelves behind the counter and returned after a few minutes with a large pile of wand boxes that he then divided into two piles for Hermione and Marik to try out. Hermione ended up finding her wand after just two attempts. Hermione's first attempt had snapped the wand she was holding in half in a flurry of flying pieces of dark purple wood. However, her second attempt with a different wand sent off an amazing array of blue sparks that looked like fireworks right when she took the wand in her hand. Hermione's skin seemed to radiate and glow with a bright sheen after she held the second wand for a brief moment. Marik could only pause what he was doing and watch on in awe at the sight.

Ollivander told Hermione that her wand was ten inches, brown Vinewood, with a core of unicorn hair. Hermione had immediately tried to ask what all those items were and what the significance of them in her wand meant, but was hushed by Professor McGonagall before she could get any answers. For Marik, it had taken a few more attempts to find his wand. After setting two of the wand boxes to flame with a crazy black fire, giving himself the worst case of hiccups ever, exploding a picture frame of a weird looking cat on the counter, and making his father bald (which McGonagall unfortunately quickly fixed), he, at last, found his wand.

Just like with Hermione, as soon as he took the wand into his hands the wand sent out fireworks, which appeared to be a light shade of green this time. His body seemed to be filled and radiate with the same sort of glow that Hermione's had a few moments after him having the wand in his hands as well. His wand, Ollivander told him, was thirteen inches, white rosewood, with a core of thestral tail hair. All his wand ingredients sounded really interesting but he had absolutely no idea what a thestral or rosewood was. . . yet!

After they had gotten their wands McGonagall had proceeded to take their group to a robes shop a few shops down, where they had to buy a few sets of school robes, dueling robes, and one set of dress robes. After to Marik what felt like hours of boring clothes shopping, they finally finished buying everything in that shop and left to continue their trip.

The next shop they were taken to was the shop resembling Frankenstein's lab that Marik had seen earlier that day. The shop was a large supply shop that according to McGonagall had a little bit of everything inside. Marik certainly couldn't argue with that. The more he walked around the more crazy looking objects and things he seemed to find. Here they bought all of their potion and herbology supplies that they would need in the upcoming year.

Out of all all of the courses he had been told about by Professor McGonagall, potions and herbology seemed to be the most straightforward and easy to understand classes to him. And by straightforward he meant that they were the only two classes that he could even vaguely understand what they might be about. His mother had jokingly told him after learning that in herbology he would be learning about magical plants that he would be grounded for the summer when he came home if he had not learned how to keep her garden from dying so much, which Marik knew based on his mother's gardening skills was an impossible feat even with magic.

His dad added to the joking when he told everyone Marik would need to study extra hard in potions to pass, and proceeded to tell the story of how one time when Marik was eight he made lemonade for his dad but instead of adding sugar had added flour. Marik admitted that if mixing ingredients in potions was anything like mixing ingredients for drinks or cooking recipes he would indeed have to study extra hard.

After the group had checked out with all of their potion and herbology supplies they lastly headed to the bookstore. Professor McGonagall took the parents to the store's register to get their core class books and told Hermione and himself to decide which elective class they wanted to take and find the books for that course on the store's shelves.

"So which one do you think you are going to pick?" Hermione asked him, but without pausing continued. "I can't decide between spell creation and astronomy. Divination does not sound interesting at all to me. I've already taken some courses in grade school that had to deal with astronomy so maybe I wouldn't be clueless like I am in all the other subjects on one hand, but on the other hand spell creation does sound so fascinating doesn't it?" Hermione asked him, and Marik could see the cogs turning in the girl's head.

Marik had also been thinking about which elective he wanted to take ever since Professor McGonagall had given them their schedules on the car ride here. He agreed with Hermione that out of their choices divination seemed like the least interesting one. Marik had used to want to be an astronaut when he was a kid and the subject of the cosmos always had interested him, so astronomy did certainly seem like a good and interesting choice. However, he wanted to learn every spell that there was and figured that learning how spells were created would probably help more with that than astronomy would.

"I think I want to take spell creation," Marik responded, pausing for a brief moment before continuing. "It sounds like it would make all of the core classes easier. I mean we are going to be learning new spells in all our classes, so I think knowing how they are all created would help out with that a lot," he answered and received a nod of agreement from Hermione. "I think you should take it too, that way we can help each other study since we are both new to this and everything," Marik said, hoping he was not being too forward with his request.

He had gone his whole previous personal and education life alone and friendless, he did not want to miss an opportunity to go through his wizarding school career with at least one friend that wasn't a book or made up. Plus, Hermione had asked questions he had never even thought of, seemed to lust and thirst for knowledge of this new magical world just as much as he did, and although he would never admit it, seemed to be maybe just as smart as he considered himself to be. It would benefit him to have someone to study and practice with.

"That sounds perfect!" Hermione said excitedly and out of nowhere wrapped him in a hug, catching him off guard. "Spell creation it is! Come over here I think the book for the first year class is over on this side of the store," Hermione said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the other side of the store. He had been in the wizarding world for less than four hours so far and already he felt better in this world than he ever had in twelve years in the _muggle_ world, as McGonagall would call it.

He didn't know if Hermione considered him a friend or not yet, but just the prospect of having a friend, and the fact that they had talked all day had made him even more excited and anxious to start the school term than he had been when he woke up this morning. So at least maybe he would have one person at Hogwarts if it turned out Hogwarts was full of a bunch of Dudley Dursleys. After Hermione stopped dragging him across the store and the two of them searched a few bookshelves they found the books for year one of spell creation and made their way back to their parents.

"Mom, Dad do you think I could please buy a few more books while we are here?" Hermione asked her parents with almost puppy dog-like eyes.

"How did we know you were going to ask us that?" Hermione's parents answered and looked at each other laughing. "You can pick out two more books Hermione but that is it for now! Professor McGonagall said the library at Hogwarts will have plenty of other books for you to read," Hermione's parents answered and were shortly after engulfed in a hug from Hermione before she quickly shot off behind the many bookshelves of the store.

"Do you think I could get two more books too?" Marik asked his parents hopefully. He didn't want Hermione to get ahead of him and leave him in the dust already.

"Sorry," Hermione's mother said with an apologetic smile to Marik's parents.

"Fine! But find them quickly. Professor McGonagall said our car will be arriving to take us home soon," His parents answered, shaking their heads. Following Hermione's lead, he hugged his parents and set off to see what Hermione was getting.

"Hermione, my parents said I could get two extra books too!" he said with an excitement as he found Hermione looking at some books in the charms section. "What do you think about us getting four books we're both interested in and then switching after we have read them? That way it's like we are really getting four books instead of just two," he asked her, hoping she would agree to his idea.

"That sounds perfect Marik! I don't know how to narrow it down though! I'm not sure what I'm most interested in yet, or what might be the most useful," Hermione responded looking sad at the prospect of not knowing something.

"Hmmm. . . Yeah, I'm not so sure either," Marik answered, trying to think of any ideas.

"How about this, we are taking seven classes this year, so let's agree on the four we think are the most interesting and get one from each. Does that sound okay?" Hermione asked him.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea. We also already had to buy two required books for charms so maybe we leave charms out since we already have one more book for it than any other class?" he replied to her.

"Okay, it is a plan then!" Hermione said, a smile returning to her face. "I definitely want to get another history book; you gave me the idea when you said learning about spell creation would help us with all of our classes. I think learning as much as we can about the history of the school and the world of magic as a whole would help a lot too don't you?" Hermione asked him enthusiastically. She definitely had a point with that.

"I think you are right. The required book for the class was an introductory guide to a history of magic so maybe something on the history of Hogwarts then?" he proposed.

"Sounds good to me! You pick one now since I picked the first book," Hermione told him.

"Well… Honestly from listening to McGonagall in the car talk about all the different types of spells and magic there are I want to find something that will help us learn a lot of different spells to cast. Maybe we can find a book of basic spells or something," Marik responded. Like Hermione had said he really didn't know enough about magic or their subjects to know exactly what to look for or what he might be interested in. He did know one thing though, and that was that he wanted to learn to cast as many spells as he could. He figured a book that had a list of spells or at least mentioned a lot of spells would be a good place to start.

Hermione agreed with him on that choice as well and they decided to find a history book and a book on basic spells first while they thought of what other two books they wanted. In the end, Hermione chose for them to also get a book on potions and he had decided that they should get a book on astronomy as well. Even though they were not taking the astronomy elective class Marik did not want to miss out on anything crucial or important if it turned out astronomy was a crucial class. Plus he did not want to fall behind any of the other first years who took the class.

Hermione was ecstatic at this suggestion and completely agreed with his thought process. She even considered changing from getting a potions book to a divination book to do the same but after looking through the divination section they both agreed that they wanted to go with potions and avoid anything divination related.

After they had found the four books they wanted they brought their books to the store's checkout counter where their parents were waiting along with Professor McGonagall. Altogether Marik was leaving the store with the required books for his classes, the two books he would be taking home first before trading with Hermione, plus technically the two books she was reading first. He glanced at the towering stack of his books on the counter looking at them in awe at all he was going to get to learn in the coming days.

After the group had purchased all of their books Professor McGonagall led the party back through the Leaky Cauldron pub to the car that they had all ridden in earlier that morning. Along the way back home the ride was much quieter than previously, as both he and Hermione had already stuck their noses into one of the books they had just bought. When Marik and his family made it back home and said their goodbyes to Professor McGonagall he immediately made his way to the couch in the living room and started looking at all of his books, deciding on which order he wanted to read them in. He would be leaving for Hogwarts shortly on the first of September and wanted to make sure he knew everything he could before it started. He figured the kids who had magical parents would be years ahead of him already, so he had to make sure that he was caught up by the first day of classes, which meant that until he left for Hogwarts it was operation-no-sleep-only-read-and-take-notes for him.

He stacked the books in the order he wanted to read them knowing he would not be able to finish them all but could at least start most of them. He decided on the following order:

 _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_ by Miranda Goshawk

 _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

 _Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

 _The Dark Arts, and How to Defend Against Them_ by Quentin Trimble

 _A Spill of Spells_ by Asuna Modwip

 _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

 _An Introduction to Spell Creation_ by Fiona Findings

 _The Magic of the Cosmos_ by Carl Sagan

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

 _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

Proud of his pile books and anxious to start diving into them he picked up the _Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1,_ which he had already started reading in the car on the way home, and began to learn all he could about his amazing new world of magic.

* * *

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	2. Book1: Chapter 2

**Harry**

September 1, 1991

"Hurry up, mom and dad; we are going to be late!" Harry yelled up the stairs at his parents. He had been anxious for this day for his entire life, and now that it was finally here he felt like his parents were purposefully trying to go as slow as possible just to bug him.

"Slow down son, we have more than an hour until the train leaves. Plus we have a portkey to take us right to King's Cross, so it will take us less than a minute to get there," his father yelled from upstairs. Even though his father was right Harry still pouted at his answer.

"Now, Harry, like I was saying make sure when they put the sorting hat on your head that you put your hand in between your head and the hat. Moony was bald for our whole first year because he didn't think we were serious about the hat's teeth," his uncle Sirius said, drawing a roll of the eyes from everyone else in the room.

"Harry James Potter, don't you listen to a word that man says to you!" his mother yelled from upstairs having heard what Sirius was saying. The entire gang was there at his house and just about ready to see him and his kind-of-cousin Daphne off for the first year at Hogwarts. The Potter house's occupant total over the summer had seen a dramatic increase. After he had gone to Diagon Alley to get all of his school supplies for his first year his uncle Sirius, who was really just his godfather and actually had no blood relation at all to Harry, had brought his family over basically every day so they could spend the last few days of the summer together.

Sirius had married Hemera Greengrass before Harry was born. Hemera had been married to someone else before Sirius, although they avoided ever talking about him, and had given birth to Daphne who was also starting her first year at Hogwarts now. Sirius and Hemera also had a daughter together named Alina Black, though; Alina was one year behind both Harry and Daphne and would not be attending Hogwarts until the following year.

Even though they had seen each other a lot growing up and spent more than a few Holidays together Harry was not that close with either of the girls, not that he really minded that much, though. To be honest, Harry thought that Daphne was a pretty quiet and cold person. She had a close group of friends that she would hang out with now and then and seemed to be social and nice enough with them, but when she wasn't with them Daphne tended to keep to herself and read a lot. He wasn't sure how someone who grew up with someone as outgoing as Sirius for a father could be so quiet, but on the other hand, he was nowhere near as outgoing as his father had been so he guessed it was possible.

Even though Daphne's younger sister, Alina, was much more outgoing and a lot more like Sirius, Harry had still never grown that close to the girl. Alina was certainly more easier to approach and talk to than Daphne was, but still, she and Harry had never that much to one another. Both of them tended to want to do their own things when their families got together.

Even though he and his kind-of-cousins were not that close he and Daphne had spent a large portion of the past summer reading and discussing magic together as they both got prepared for their first year at Hogwarts. Daphne may not have been much of a talker like Sirius but she definitely had inherited her mother's smarts. From what Sirius and his uncle, Remus had told Harry growing up Harry knew that Hemera had been one of the top students at Hogwarts during her time, and had been one of the best transfiguration students to go through the school since Professor McGonagall. As much as Daphne already studied and researched he would be surprised if Daphne wasn't much the same.

Even without her saying much Harry knew that Daphne was just as excited as he was about finally getting to go to Hogwarts. Even Daphne's usual emotionless gaze had a similar tinge of nervousness to it, one that he was currently very familiar with. While Harry may have only started packing for his first year at Hogwarts a few days ago, he had been preparing for this day for what felt like his entire life. Ever since his mother had read him his first children's book, _Merlin the Magical,_ magic had instantly become the biggest fascination of his life, and throughout the years the passion for magic and its world had only grown bigger.

While Harry, as his parents made very clear, was not allowed to actually practice any magic before going to Hogwarts, he had been brought up around magic his entire life. Ever since he could remember he had been watching his mother brew potions, grow a magical garden, and cast charms around the house. His dad, Sirius, and Remus, whenever his mother was out of the house, had told him countless stories growing up about their adventures and glory days at Hogwarts, and a few times had even let Harry try and cast a spell or two. They wouldn't let him do anything like some of the cooler spells he had read about but he had at least already learned how to do a simple _lumos_ spell. Wherever he had gone so far in life magic was always surrounding him, and today was finally the day he got actually enter the world of magic and feed his anxious fascinations.

"I still can't believe you kids are finally going to Hogwarts. Feels like just yesterday that I was changing Daphne's diapers, time sure does fly," Sirius announced to the room, looking a mix between sad and proud.

"Dad!" Daphne shouted at Sirius, showing only the least bit of an embarrassed blush in her cheeks at his comment.

"What? It isn't every day a father gets to send his daughter off to Hogwarts! I'm allowed to embellish these moments!" Sirius argued back with a large smile.

"Has he been like this all week?" Remus asked Hemera as the two of them shook their heads at Sirius.

"More like all month," Hemera replied, a large smile forming on her face as she watched Daphne and Sirius argue.

"Sirius, leave the poor girl alone. I'm sure she is already scarred enough from just having to live with you every day, don't do any more damage to her," Remus said in a joking tone. Sirius seemed to have lost whatever argument he and Daphne had been having and playfully turned his head to now argue with Remus.

"One day, Moony, you will be doing the same thing! Besides James's has been twice as bad as I have been! Lily told me he had them take seven hours' worth of family photos last week to commemorate Harry's first year at Hogwarts!" Sirius argued back at Remus. Harry shuddered at the memory of the photo shoot day. He still had splotches of white in his vision from the non-stop barrage of camera flashes.

"Did he really Harry?" Remus asked him with a loud laugh.

"Yeah. . ." Harry answered, a little embarrassed.

"Well don't you worry you two, in just a few hours the both of you will be out of the reach of your fathers," Hemera said to him and Daphne.

"You make that sound like a good thing!" Sirius started to argue again.

"IT IS!" Harry and Daphne said in unison, causing Remus and Hemera to burst into laughter.

"I heard that!" Harry heard his father shout with a laugh from upstairs.

"Do any of you have any last minute advice?" Harry asked, looking for any more information he could get about Hogwarts and hoping their answers would calm his anxiousness and nervousness down.

"Just do your best Harry. You and Daphne have already read more books than me and your father ever did combined in our time at Hogwarts. You both will be fine as long as you do your best, anything less is a waste of the two of yours' potential," Sirius answered first. When Sirius was serious, which wasn't often, he really could give you good advice and almost sounded like someone with a lot of wisdom.

"Hogwarts has one of the greatest libraries in Europe, use it," Hemera added, short and to the point. Harry already knew the library was one of the first places he would be visiting upon his arrival at Hogwarts.

"Just have fun. These will be some of the best years of your life, try and enjoy them a little," Remus added with another warm smile.

"Just don't enjoy them too much or you will end up like your fathers did." Hemera quickly added to Harry and Daphne with a grin.

"Hey!" Sirius started to argue again but was interrupted by Harry's parents finally coming down the stairs.

"Okay is everyone ready?" his mother asked their group.

"YESSS, mom! We have only been waiting all day! Moony turned into a werewolf and back twice since we started waiting!" Harry answered his mother, getting a snort out of his father and Sirius for his sarcastic remark.

"Alright, alright! Well before we activate the portkey your father and I have a present for you. Go look on your trunk in the kitchen Harry," his mother told him. Harry quickly left the couch and ran into the kitchen excited to see what his parents had bought for him. There on top of his trunk was a large birdcage and perched on the bar in the cage was a white snowy owl.

"Wow, my own owl?" Harry asked his parents in a tone of disbelief and excitement behind him in the doorway.

"We figured this might be the only way you will actually send us mail," his father joked. "It's just like the one your mother and I had when you were younger," his father added. Harry made his way up to the cage and picked up one of the owl treats in a small box next to it. The owl nipped at the treat in between his fingers as he fed it, and Harry could have sworn the owl hooted a thank you as it finished the treat.

"She is so beautiful!" Harry said as he continued to look the owl over.

"What's her name going to be Harry?" Remus asked him from the doorway. Harry thought it over for a minute before a name came to mind.

"I think I will call her Hedwig," Harry answered Remus, who smiled in approval at the name.

"That is a pretty name Harry, I think it fits her well," his mother replied.

"Thanks again mom and dad, I promise I will write… at least once," he mumbled the last part under his breath, though from the roll of his mother's eyes it was clear she had heard him.

"Alright well get the rest of the family in here and I will get the portkey ready," his mother ordered. Harry went back into the living room and dragged everyone still there into the kitchen.

"Good luck on your sorting and your classes you two. Make us all proud," Remus said to him and Daphne.

"You aren't coming to King's Cross?" Harry asked him, upset that Remus wouldn't be seeing him off.

"I wish I could but I need to be getting back to work. I've already gone over my lunch break," Remus answered with a smile.

"Thank you for coming Remus," Daphne said, extending out a hand towards Remus who took it and shook it.

"Of course, Daphne, I wouldn't miss it. For anything," Remus returned with another smile.

"I'll make sure to send you an owl too when I find out where I've been sorted," Harry told Remus as he ran over to give him a final hug.

"I look forward to finding out," Remus said with a final smile and turned to leave the house. A small pop could be heard as he apparated from their front lawn.

As soon as Remus left they all stood around the coat hanger in the middle of the room, he never understood why they always made the weirdest things portkeys, and after his mother counted them down they grabbed hold and were off.

After all of the twisting and turning, followed by his graceful landing, they had at last arrived at King's Cross Station. Harry had never actually been to King's Cross Station before and the sight before his eyes at platform 9 ¾ was something that instantly made him stop in awe. His parents and family had described it to him before, but he never imagined it would be this cool and magical looking.

At the center of the station was an enormous red and gold train. At the train's front was a large steam engine that was spewing large black smoke rings, each of which was changing into a different animal as they reached the station's ceiling. The steam engine had all sorts of bars, levers, and pipes fixed all over it, but the thing that stood out the most were the large golden letters spelling out Hogwarts Express that seemed to be enchanted into the side of the train. The letters seemed to glow and twinkle each time the conductor from behind the small glass window in the steam engine pulled a lever to sound the train's horn.

Behind the front steam engine were a countless number of passenger cars. Each one the same deep red color with gold trims all around their sides and edges. Harry could see through the large windows on each of the passenger cars that a large number of students had already made their way aboard the train and were searching for a compartment to make the trip to Hogwarts in. The train was seemingly flowing with magical energy on the tracks, and all of the soon to be students like him and their families just added to the amazement of the image. Harry had never seen so many wizards and witches before.

Even though Harry had grown up around magic his entire life, the world of magic he had lived in had been limited. At an early age, Harry's family had told him everything they knew about what happened the night Voldemort attacked their family. So he knew growing up there was a reason why he couldn't go to Diagon Alley when it was crowded, or go to large magical events. His parents were always worried that he would be mobbed by admirers and that it would be best for him to grow up away from all of that.

It was hard to believe that people considered him famous for something he did not even remember. To be honest he would have never believed them if he had not experienced it for himself the first time Sirius and his father took him to a Quidditch match. Even though the match had been a small one within five minutes Harry had been swarmed by over fifty witches and wizards and forced to side along-apparate with his father back home. Normally Harry would have felt upset at not being able to freely go out in the world like others could but after that experience, he was content to lie low and keep out of the public's eye.

His parents had told him that he had been the first ever recorded survivor of a killing curse and that was why he was famous in the magical world. That added with the fact that not only did he survive the killing curse but in the process, his survival led to the defeat of a man everyone, outside of a few crazy people, hated only added to his fame.

His parents had tried to prepare him and warn him that people would approach him about it at school and he really wasn't too sure if he was ready for all the attention he might get at Hogwarts. The attention was honestly the only thing he was not looking forward to. The fame, reputation, and titles he had been given as a baby were unearned, and Harry over the years had honestly grown to dislike them all. Every kid wanted to be famous, and Harry was no different, but Harry wanted to make a name for himself and that was what he was most excited for about Hogwarts. He just wanted to learn magic, he didn't want anything else.

The train's loud whistle echoed across the platform and through the station, bringing him out of his daze of thoughts to once again look around King's Cross Station. Up until now, he had only really ever imagined himself alone at Hogwarts, but now with all the people hurriedly moving their belongings to the train or frantically saying their goodbyes his parents' warnings of Hogwarts being a crowded large place was slowly making sense. He couldn't help the wave of nervousness that ran over him the more he looked at the bustling station.

"You excited?" his father asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes I am father, I'm kind of in awe at the moment still. I can't believe it's finally time," Harry answered truthfully.

"You will do great Harry. Just promise me that you will behave yourself," his mother told him.

"I will mother, I promise," Harry answered as he gave his mother a hug.

"And no pranks like your mother used to do at Hogwarts you hear me? I expect you to be at the top of your class just like your father and I were Harry," Sirius joked as he made his way over to give Harry a hug.

"I will do my best Sirius. If I'm not at in the top three in my class I will actually finally go with you and father to a BallyCastle Bats games," Harry sarcastically bet with Sirius.

"Oh, they are not that bad. . ." Harry could hear Sirius saying as his mother and father walked him over to the train.

"It's okay to be nervous Harry," his mother told him, as she lowered herself to be eye level with him.

"Were you both nervous? You know on your first day?" he asked them both, again searching for something to calm the butterflies in his stomach.

"It was most nervous day in my life," his mother answered, putting her arm on his shoulder. "But the nervousness will disappear soon. As soon as you see the castle all worries go away and only excitement will remain," his mother added, giving him a sincere smile that made him feel better.

"What about the sorting? Weren't you nervous about that too?" he asked them both again.

"The sorting hat will put you where you are supposed to go, so you shouldn't be nervous. Wherever you end up is where you were meant to be," his father chimed in this time, putting his hand on Harry's open shoulder.

"Let the nervousness go away Harry. You will be fine, I promise," his mother said, squeezing his shoulder and helping the last few butterflies disappear in wake of her promise. The train's whistle sounded loudly again.

"That's the final whistle, you need to get on board now," his father started to say as he looked up at a clock over their heads on the wall. "Good luck Harry, make us proud," his father said as he gave him a last quick peck on the forehead.

"Please write us soon, your father and I want to hear what house you end up in and how your classes look. And you better study hard!" his mother told him as she also gave him one final goodbye kiss.

"I will mother. I promise," Harry said and turned from his parents, giving them one last goodbye glance as he made his way onto the train. Harry cursed himself that he had not tried to secretly learn a levitation spell over as he dragged his heavy luggage down the passenger cars.

The inside hallway of the passenger cars were all packed. Tons of students of all ages were running through the hallway only stopping to see if a compartment along the way was empty. Harry unconsciously pulled a few strands of hair over his face as he made his way down the hallway. He looked through a few of the compartment windows along the way as he made his way down the train trying to find the first one that was empty.

Unlike Daphne, who already had friends she knew would be attending Hogwarts; Harry would be going into his first year as a loner. He was honestly okay with that, though. Not having people to talk to and catch up with meant he had more time to prepare himself for classes. He had wanted more time over the summer to read his school books and was hoping that he could get a lot of reading done during the train ride.

He would never admit it to his father or Sirius, but Harry knew outside of his hair and looks that he was definitely more like his mother than like his father. Trying to imagine his father reading like Harry would be soon on a crowded loud train like this was almost impossible. His father was a Quidditch star, prankster, and Mr. Popular during his time at Hogwarts. He was, as his mother described, only seen with a book in his hand once during his seven years at Hogwarts. His mother on the other hand, was known as a star student who spent almost as much time in the library as the librarian did from what his father had told him. Although he enjoyed watching Quidditch, Harry enjoyed reading, discussing, and learning magic much more than playing magical games. His father had tried to get Harry to practice and play Quidditch all the time growing up but eventually, he had thankfully let up a little as he realized Harry's interests lie elsewhere.

After making his way through five different passenger cars Harry finally found an empty compartment. As he entered the small compartment he lifted his luggage onto the top overhead rack and grabbed a seat next to the window. Remus had told him before that the trip to Hogwarts took about two hours so he decided to bring out _Hogwarts a History_ to make the time go by a little quicker and get in some last minute reading.

He had read about ten pages further in his book when the train's whistle sounded a final time and the train lunged forward. Harry lifted his eyes up from the book's pages to look out the window as the train began to move. He watched all of the parents still in the station waving at the train as each car passed them by. He craned his neck to try and get one last glimpse of his parents. He found them standing with Sirius and Hemera where he had left them and gave them all a final wave as his car passed them by.

As the train passed the last wall of King's Cross station the view from his window, quickly turned from that of a busy city landscape to an endless view of empty rolling green hills. After a few minutes of looking absently out of the window Harry returned to the pages of his book. He had made it about fifteen minutes into the train ride and into his book, where he was again for the second time in the past month reading the chapter on the four founders of Hogwarts when, when the door to his compartment opened.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry, but do you mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full," a young boy who looked about the same age as Harry asked. One of the boy's pockets was pulled out of his jeans and flapping in the air of the compartment and on the collar of the boy's shirt was a large green stain that looked to have been made recently. He looked like a mess.

"Yeah, of course," Harry said, a little annoyed that he wasn't alone anymore but still did not want to be rude. He stood up and helped the boy put his luggage onto the overhead rack on the opposite side. A large green toad jumped out of the boy's robes in the process and began jumping around the compartment from wall to wall. The boy ungracefully scrambled around the compartment for a few minutes until he caught the toad and put it back in his robe's pocket.

"My name is Neville Longbottom. Nice to meet you," the boy said out of breath but still in a friendly tone as he sat down across from Harry, extending his hand out towards Harry.

"Hi Neville, I'm Harry Potter nice to meet you," he introduced himself to the boy, cringing as he realized that he had said his last name. He had been prepared to go as long as he could at Hogwarts without people finding out who he was, and was hoping that now he would not have to spend the rest of the trip talking about himself. "Are you a first year as well?" he asked Neville, trying to quickly change the subject.

"Y-Y-Yeah I am. So you are _the_ Harry Potter?" Neville asked nervously, stuttering over half of his words. Harry could tell Neville was looking at him intently, trying to discover if Harry was, in fact, _the_ Harry Potter as he had said.

"Yup," Harry answered bluntly, wanting to avoid this conversation. He shifted his gaze back towards his book, hoping the conversation would stop at that and he could get back to his reading.

"My mother and father went to school with your parents. My dad was an Auror with your dad back when he worked with Auror Corp," Neville added. As Harry looked back up at him from his book he could see Neville was trying to avoid making eye contact.

"Oh really?" Harry said, suddenly interested in the conversation. "Did your dad tell you a lot about being an Auror? My dad hardly says anything at all about his short time with the corp," Harry asked, interested if he could learn something new about his dad. His father had gone straight to working with the Auror corp with Sirius after they had graduated Hogwarts. Both of them had left after just two years though and neither one of them ever said much about their time there.

"No, not really, I'm sorry," Neville said looking down. "My dad left shortly after your father did. My mother was attacked during the war and was in pretty bad shape for a while, so he took a lot of time off to look after her."

"I'm sorry to hear that. . . Well, are you excited about your first year?" Harry asked Neville not knowing what to say after that.

"More nervous than anything. My whole family were all really good students at Hogwarts, so I'm hoping I don't let them down, you know?" Neville answered.

"I'm sure you won't," Harry responded with a smile.

"Thanks. Chocolate Frog?" Neville asked him with an awkward smile. His hands were outstretched with two boxes of chocolate frogs. As much as Harry just wanted to get back to reading his book he could never say no to a chocolate frog.

"Yeah, thanks Neville," Harry replied, taking one of the boxes from the nervous looking boy and opening it. The frog immediately tried to take its one good jump as soon as the sealing on the package was gone but Harry snatched the frog in the air and instantly starting enjoying the chocolate treat.

"Who'd you get?" Neville asked him, pointing down at the card in Harry's hand. Harry looked down to see Alabastor Finnigan from the Chudley Cannons looking up at him.

"Just Alabastor Finnigan, I swear I get him in every other box," Harry replied, feeling a tad bit upset that he was still five years dry of pulling a Merlin. "How about you?" Harry asked Neville.

"I got Phyllida Spore. Don't know if I have ever pulled her before. Do you know who she is?" Neville asked him looking the card over.

"She was a Headmaster at Hogwarts, one of the first five I think," Harry replied, somewhat disappointed in himself that he could not remember. He had actually just read the chapter on the Headmaster's of Hogwarts only two nights okay.

"Guess I should have known that. I really am screwed this year," Neville replied, now looking at the car with a sick look on his face.

"I have the page on all the old Headmaster's marked if you want to read it." Harry offered, feeling bad for the boy. Harry still had some nervous feelings and could relate with the boy a little, but he knew as soon as he got into a classroom he would be fine.

"That would be brilliant! If you don't mind of course?" Neville said, his face looking a little less pale now.

"Not at all," Harry replied and handed Neville the book he had been reading. As soon as he got the book in his hands Neville's full attention went into reading. Now without a book, Harry stood up and reached up to his suitcase on the overhead rack. He pulled out the first book his searching hand found and sat back down, opening the book on beginner's astronomy.

After that, besides a few other bits of small talk about something interesting Neville found in Harry's book the ride was rather silent. Harry found it hard to believe that this was Neville's first time reading the book. As soon as Harry had received his supply list for this year he had immediately started reading all the required texts. If everyone else at Hogwarts was like Neville then getting the top spot in his year would be easy. Shortly after Neville had finished the chapter on Ambrose Swott and Harry had given up trying to read in his astronomy book the train halted to a stop signaling that they had finally arrived.

"It's finally time," he said in a whisper to himself as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before standing up.

Neville looked at him with a face a mixture between confused and fright as he handed Harry his book back and went to retrieve his stuff from the overhead rack. Harry pulled his suitcase off from the overhead rack as well and followed Neville out of their compartment. He made his way out of the train, having to dodge a number of students running through the hallway.

Outside of the train, there was a large bearded man, who looked like he was part giant from what Harry remembered from some of his reading, signaling for all of the first years to follow him. Harry and the Neville boy made their way towards the large half-giant man. It was easy to tell who the first years were and who wasn't as the groups separated from the train. All of the first years had nervously excited looks on their faces as they made their way over to the half-giant and Harry found it hard not to laugh at the reaction of each student when they saw the large man for the first time.

Harry knew he should remember the name of the half-giant. His parents had been friends with him before Harry was born and had told Harry a story or two about the large man. With all the anxiety and excitement inside Harry at the moment though he was finding it hard to think straight.

Eventually when the last few first years found their way to the half-giant they were led down a cobbled path that winded alongside a steep cliffside for a little ways until they arrived at a huge lake. One boat at a time the half-giant helped the first years board and depart into the black lake. In the darkness, it was hard to see anything outside of the lantern the half-giant was holding and the small sea lanterns aboard each of the small boats.

When Harry arrived at the front of the line he and Neville, who had stayed right beside Harry ever since they had left the train, boarded one of the small boats with another first-year boy and girl. There were no introductions this time thankfully as the half-giant pushed them out into the lake and the boat set sail.

For a few minutes, the world was black and silent. Although there were at least sixteen other boats skimming across the dark waters of the lake, no one was making a sound. Only the wind as it slashed across the water or the occasional large splash of a wave against one of the boats made a sound. All eyes were glued forward; waiting to get the first sight of the castle that they all knew was soon to come. As their boat entered further out on the lake Harry's eyes darted up towards the towering hillside that had revealed itself. Ahead of them, maybe three-hundred feet or so Hogwarts sat towering into the clouds on the hillside, waiting for them.

It was huge! Much bigger than he ever imagined it would be or possibly could be. The castle's reflection reached itself across the entirety of the lake's waters and its numerous bright windows lit up the entire grounds. Harry couldn't help the smile that came across his face at the sight before him. His parent's descriptions of the castle in all of their stories had seemed so unbelievable before, but now were becoming much more realistic.

From here out on the lake he could see almost every part of the castle. What he knew was the Great Hall was lit up brighter than any other part of the castle, and even from here he could see people moving behind the glass of the huge windows lining the sides of the Hall. Spread out sporadically along the hillside and the castle's walls were huge towers, each one stretching out into the clouds. Each of the towers tops seemed to be lit with candlelight as they each had a glowing light to them.

Hogwarts was, beautiful to say the least. Even from out on the lake's waters you could almost feel the magic emitting from the castle. In a scenery that was composed of a night's sky with an endless number of stars, a lake with a pristine view, and rolling hills all around still nothing could come close to the awe the view of the castle inspired. It was the most magical and amazing thing Harry had honestly ever seen in his life.

"Holy shit…" the boy sitting across from him with the gray eyes said, pulling Harry from his awestruck daze. The black-haired boy's jaw had dropped and his eyes wide looking at the castle and seemed to be as amazed and struck by the sight of Hogwarts as Harry had been. The remark earned a small laugh from Harry, who could relate to the boy and an elbow from the pretty brown-haired girl sitting next to the boy. After that break in the silence, the silence on the lake continued and Harry's amazement returned for the remainder of the short boat ride up to the school.

After another five minutes or so their boats arrived at a shoreline at the base of hillside Hogwarts castle was on. Here they docked their boats and were led up another cobbled path by a scary looking man that walked hunched over as if he was in pain towards the school. The walk towards the castle was filled with conversation from all of the first years. Each of them telling another about their reaction to seeing the castle for the first time and a few making guesses about what house they would soon be sorted in.

Harry kept to himself and followed the man leading them up to the castle closely. It appeared Neville and he had been separated since they departed from the boats as Harry was able to make the entire journey up to the castle's front door without having to speak to anyone.

"First years please gather here!" an older looking women, he recognized as Professor McGonagall, dressed in a crimson and gold robe called out to them as the last few first years in the back of the group approached the now open front doors of the castle. His mother still kept in contact with her old transfiguration professor and over the years the professor had even made a few appearances at the Potter house. Harry had spoken with the professor a few times over the years but most of what he knew about the woman came from Sirius and his father's stories, which meant he didn't know much outside of her being someone you didn't want to make angry.

"We are going to wait here briefly while the rest of the older students finish taking their seats. After which, you will follow me in a single file line into the Great Hall where you will then be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony, Special Recognition Ceremony, and opening feast are three of the greatest ceremonies at Hogwarts, so if there is any misbehaving out of any of you, you will find yourself back on the express and on your way home before you can say Quidditch." The professor finished announcing to the first years with a scary stern look.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting to him the main doors leading into the Great Hall opened by themselves and all of the first years, including himself, made their way inside. Again Harry was rendered speechless.

Not only was the sheer number of students sitting inside the Hall mind-blowing, but the Great Hall itself was truly a magical sight to behold. Four huge dark wooden tables lined the Hall, all of them filled to the brim with students craning their necks to get a good view of the first years. Each of the tables was lined at their centers with a long tablecloth decorated in the four different house colors and embroidered with the house symbols. Over all of the tables were floating candles that illuminated the Hall with a vibrant glowing light and, luckily for the students underneath, seemed to be enchanted to not drop wax as they burned.

Further up past the candles the ceiling of the Great Hall above was enchanted, just like in his mother's stories, to be see-through, and where a ceiling should have been instead was the same night sky that he had seen out on the lake only minutes earlier. Over each of the long, seemingly endless tables, large house banners for each of the four houses magically waved without wind.

 _Magic was amazing,_ was all he could think as his eyes tried to comprehend and take in everything inside the Hall.

At the end of the Great Hall another long wooden table had been turned perpendicular with the other four tables and sitting behind the tables were an odd looking array of older witches and wizards. All of whom Harry guessed were professors at the school. As the first years slowly made their way down between the two center tables in the Hall, Harry craned his neck to see if he recognized any of the professors behind the table.

Dumbledore was the easiest to spot, and even though Harry had only actually met the man once when he was much younger it was impossible not to remember the old Headmaster. Dumbledore was dressed in an immaculate gold pair of robes that was trimmed with white fabric along its edges that matched the exact color of Dumbledore's long beard. The Headmaster had a tall blue pointed hat on his head that was only outmatched in height by the half-giant who had found his seat at the table a few chairs down.

Other than Dumbledore not many of the other professors stood out much. Harry recognized the small head of Ravenclaw house, professor Flitwick. He had seen the small man in more than a few pictures in different papers and books, all of which had been acclaiming him as one of the best, if not the best duelist in Europe. The only other person Harry recognized was his mother's good friend Professor Snape, who had visited their house a few times growing up. Harry had never spoken with the professor he knew would be his potions professor, but he did know from stories from his parents that his mother and father had very different feelings of the man.

Harry almost bumped into the group of first years that had stopped at the end of the Great Hall in front of him as he scanned the teacher's table. He could hear the older students talking at their tables near him, and got a little more nervous when he overheard a small group making bets if anyone would throw up this year.

 _You will not throw up Harry!_ He internally shouted at himself. The betting and talking amongst the tables died down and you could hear a quill drop in the Hall as the Headmaster slowly got up from his chair and made his way towards the podium in front of the teacher's table.

"Welcome, all! The very best of evenings to you! I hope you all enjoyed your summers. As I'm sure you all are hungry let us get the sorting under way," Dumbledore said as he moved a nearby stool down to in front of all of the first years with a wave of his hand. Then as if magic, no pun intended, the Sorting Hat formed itself from nothing onto the seat of the stool. Harry made note as he laughed quietly to himself that there were, in fact, no teeth on the Hat as Sirius said there would be. The Great Hall got even quieter as the Hat started to move and its point perked up.

 _Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Just where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _if you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _Where power and knowledge are close friends,_

 _Those ambitious folks use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get all in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

At the Hat's finish, it bowed its point and the Hall erupted into a series of applause. Harry joined in on the applause, feeling more anxious to get sorted than he ever had been before.

"Wicked," said a ginger-haired boy in front of Harry. The boy had a large patch of dirt on his nose that apparently he had somehow failed to notice. As the applause died down Professor McGonagall made her way up to stand next to the stool and pulled out a long sheet of parchment that stretched all the way to the floor as it unraveled itself.

"Please remain quiet while I call you up one at a time. Simply put the Hat on your head and then proceed to take a seat at your house's table," Professor McGonagall announced to the first years and looked over to the list.

"Hannah Abbot." Was the first name announced by Professor McGonagall. The Hall remained silent as the girl made her way slowly up to the Hat, looking terrified that she had been the first name called. Harry thanked Merlin he had not been the first one, he was already having to fight the butterflies in his stomach enough as is. With shaking hands, the girl took the Hat off of the stool and placed it reluctantly on her head. The had fidgeted and moved around atop the girl, looking like it was literally burrowing itself into her head. After a few moments of silent anticipation, the Hat cried _Hufflepuff_ and with a large smile the girl skipped over the now standing Hufflepuff table.

Harry had a hard time paying attention to the next few names McGonagall called out. His full attention was on trying to calm down and keep his stomach under control. Thankfully it appeared that McGonagall was going in alphabetical order, which meant Harry had plenty of time to calm his nerves.

Harry had never really given too much thought into which house he would end up being sorted into, however, as he stood amongst the other first years waiting nervously for his name to be called his mind was racing with thoughts of each house. Most of the times growing up when he imagined himself at Hogwarts or had dreams of himself inside one of the school's classrooms there was always a Gryffindor lion sewn onto his robes. He had always been more excited about the other parts of his imaginations or dreams, though and had always assumed he just imagined himself as a Gryffindor because he had grown up in a house of lions.

His mother, father, Sirius, and Remus had all been sorted into Gryffindor. Outside of Hemera, who had been sorted into Slytherin, all Harry had ever grown up knowing was Gryffindors. Even though it seemed Gryffindor was practically in his blood, Harry really was open to being in any house really.

Growing up his mother had more than a few times jokingly told him when she was tutoring him that he might end up being a Ravenclaw since he never seemed to stop asking questions. He would be okay with being sorted into Ravenclaw too. From what Remus had told him, the head of Ravenclaw house, Professor Flitwick, was the current European Dueling Champion so Harry figured he would be someone good to learn under. That plus a house that was literally known for being full of wit and learning sounded like the perfect house for someone like him who had such a thirst to learn all he could.

Honestly, he would even be okay with Slytherin or Hufflepuff too. Although, Sirius had once told him that everyone in Hufflepuff had to get a tattoo of a badger. So he used to not want to be in Hufflepuff, but after his mother told him that it was a lie he was once again open to Hufflepuff as well. The house did not really matter to him that much. As long he got to be at Hogwarts and learn all the magic there was, he could be in-house janitorial squad for all he cared. Okay, well maybe not that house.

The first three names McGonagall called out Harry did not recognize, not that he would probably actually recognize anyone anyway. With the fourth name though, McGonagall called Daphne up. Harry watched Daphne as she made her way up to the stool and picked up the Hat. Daphne's expression never changed from her usual stony facade as the Hat wriggled atop her head for a few moments. Harry continued to look intently at his kind-of-cousin until the Hat shouted into the Hall _Slytherin!_ Harry clapped the loudest he had so far as Daphne made her way over to the Slytherin section. He shook his head as Daphne's expression still remained unchanged even after being sorted and greeted by all of her new housemates.

 _Some things never change._ He thought to himself. Although even though outside of Daphne he did not actually know any of the other first years that made their way up to the Sorting Hat, he surprisingly did end up recognizing a few people. Most of which he had seen either at King's Cross, on the Express or during the boat ride to the school.

The pretty brown haired girl that had ridden in the boat with him and Neville to the school was sorted into Ravenclaw after the Hat had been on her head only a mere five seconds. The other boy that had been on the boat with Harry had so far had the Hat on his head the longest out of everyone else. The boy had the Hat on his head for close to five minutes before finally the Hat pointed upwards and yelled _Slytherin_ out into the Hall. As the boy made his way over to the Slytherin table with a grin Harry tried to think but couldn't remember exactly what the record for the longest sorting ever was. Sirius had told him Dumbledore's sorting had taken seven hours and for three of the hours the Hat and Dumbledore had a lengthy conversation about whether or not top hats were in style. Sirius had said that in the end, his sorting had taken so long that the Sorting Hat had told Dumbledore to just pick his own house, but Harry couldn't remember if that was another one of Sirius's jokes or not.

McGonagall proceeded to call out name after name and with each one Harry grew more and more anxious. Finally shortly after Neville had been sorted into Gryffindor and a boy named Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin they were finally getting closer to Harry's name.

 _Thank Merlin_! He thought to himself as his stomach growled, he had been so excited that day he had forgotten to eat anything. At least he hoped that was a hunger growl and not an I'm-gonna-throw-up-because-I'm-so-anxious-growl.

"Harry Potter!" McGonagall announced, pulling his attention away from his still growling stomach and making him cringe a little as he noticed everyone in the Hall was now looking directly at him.

 _So much for not getting too much attention my first day._ He thought to himself as he allowed himself one more deep breath before he took a step forward towards the stool.

Cricket chirps from outside the castle could be heard as he made his way up to the stool, each one of his footsteps echoing throughout the Hall. The closer he seemed to get to the stool the louder the whisperings of students at their tables got. Harry even swore that a few of the professor's had leaned forward to get a better look at him as he made his way up to the stool. When he arrived at the stool he picked up the Hat and placed it atop his head, allowing himself one more quick glance into the Hat for teeth before he did so.

 _Hmmm Lily and James' famous Harry Potter has finally made it to Hogwarts. I wondered when I would get to see you. Now what to do with you, where to put you. You don't seem to have taken after your father and his…ways… so there is that to think about. You are even more focused than your mother it seems on wanting to be the top of your class. . . I see in your mind an immense curiosity for magic, and how much you love to learn and get lost in a book. Ravenclaw would suit you great on the path fulfilling your passion of learning all that you seek. But I see more here hmm… Difficult, yes very difficult. They call you the boy who lived yet you do not like this. You do not like that you were given fame and glory, yet you still seek fame and glory. That is quite the contradiction Mr. Potter. . . Yes. . . You are already a legend but you wish to make your legend on your own I can see. Hmm well, I think I know what to do with you, after all, it's clearly written here on the inside of your mind… It better be… GRYFFINDOR!"_

The Hall erupted into another burst of applause, this round of applause seeming to be louder than any of those before as he made his way through the Great Hall to find a seat at the now standing Gryffindor table.

As soon as he arrived at the table he was immediately greeted by a plethora of other Gryffindor students, all of which who shook his hand and welcomed him to their house. One hand after another Harry tried to remember the name that followed each handshake but was too caught up in the moment to really pay attention. Just as his hand was started to grow tired thankfully he seemed to have shaken everyone's within distance and was able to grab a seat at the table in between Neville and a tall, black-haired girl who looked to be a few years older than him. McGonagall shushed the crowd as a few more people at the Gryffindor table tried to call out to him and introduce themselves.

As McGonagall called out the next name on her parchment Harry finally felt all of the anxiety in him dissipate. As the last of his nerves calmed down he felt his robes shifting themselves around. He looked down at them and he could see that they had already changed to now have the Gryffindor house sigil embroidered on their breast. He could not help but smile at the change, knowing his family would be happy at where he had been sorted.

McGonagall continued to call out more names from her list and the Hall continued to erupt each time another student was sorted. The last name the professor called was a boy named Blaise Zabini, was sorted into Slytherin. Following the last round of applause, the Headmaster rose again from his seat at the teacher's table and made his way back to the podium.

"Congratulations to all our newly certain first years. I hope that you follow in the footsteps of those who have built the foundations of your house before you and that you continue to add to the legacies of your new homes. Now it is time for the special recognition ceremony. Professor Sprout will announce the results for our new second years." The Headmaster finished his second announcement and a round, friendly looking women dressed in green robes made her way to the podium.

Harry's mother had told him about the special recognition ceremony a few times before. Apparently, it was one of the higher honors a student could achieve at Hogwarts, and if your name was called it meant that you were one of the best. In many of Harry's dreams growing up, his name was one of those called during this ceremony. In one of his latest dreams he had just finished his first year of classes, and he had recognized as the top student in every single one his classes along with being named the number one ranked first year.

That dream was one of Harry's more common dreams. And as Sprout announced the top-ranked student in each of last year's first-year classes Harry wanted to make that dream a reality more and more. He wanted nothing more than to be the best, and as he watched the students who were called up to be recognized he knew that he would settle for nothing less than being in their shoes come the end of the year.

The rest of the special recognition ceremony went on much quicker than the sorting ceremony. Harry watched on in awe as each student who was to be recognized name was called. Those students stood out amongst the rest and those who had their names called multiple times stood even higher. Harry found himself telling himself mentally that would soon be him countless times as the last seventh year was recognized as being the number one ranked wizard in his year, and therefore the entire school.

Another huge round of applause followed the end of the ceremony and the Headmaster once again got up from his seat and made his way back up to the podium.

"I believe we have made enough announcements. Dig in!" the Headmaster announced with a wide, twinkling smile.

The Headmaster opened his arms wide and the tables were all filled with an endless number of bowls, plates, and trays. Harry had to contain himself as a group of red hair wizards, who all looked to be related, nearby immediately jumped the table, grabbing food from every nearby plate. When Harry deemed it was safe to fill his plate he added a little bit of everything onto his plate.

Thankfully it appeared everyone was just as hungry as he was and the conversation among the table was kept to a minimum. Harry did have confirmed three different times that he was in fact actually Harry Potter, but other than that he got to just enjoy his food and take in more of the moment.

Following the feast, Dumbledore announced a warning about the forbidden forest and a forbidden corridor on the third floor. After that, each house's prefect stood up and led their tables out of the Great Hall.

The rest of the castle left Harry in as much awe as the Great Hall did. Each hallway was lined with immaculate sets of armor along with a countless number of picture frames. Each picture he passed by along the way shouted out a friendly greeting which Harry returned. The stairwell was probably one of the craziest sights Harry had maybe ever seen before.

Above them, an uncountable number of stairs were moving from one wall to the other, and two different times the Hogwarts section had to wait for the proper staircase to arrive before they could climb higher. After they climbed up a few more flights of stairs the Gryffindor Head Boy led them down a long hallway that ended with an enormous picture frame of a fat lady, who was currently singing in an awful tone.

"This is the entrance to the Gryffindor Common room," the Head Boy, who Harry noted looked to be another member of the red-haired family, announced to the first year Gryffindors. "When you enter girl's dormitories are to the left, boy's dormitories are to the right. The password to get in is _Flubbious Gorgonius,"_ the Head Boy announced again and at the sound of the password being said the large portrait swung open, revealing a doorway.

All of the first years were led into the Gryffindor Common room, which was already filled with older Gryffindor students who all seemed to be already lost in conversations. Harry looked around the common room, recognizing it vividly from the numerous photos his parents had taken during their time at Hogwarts. After taking the sight of the common room, filled to the brim with chatty lions, Harry quickly made his way up to the boy's dormitory.

Upon entry, he looked for the bed that was the closest to a window and the one that was most secluded. He quickly unpacked his luggage that was already in the room and sent off two quick letters with Hedwig, letting his parents and Remus know that he had been sorted into Gryffindor. He also told his father to tell Sirius that instead of a Sorting Hat this year that they had sorting sandals, he figured Sirius would find that funny.

After sending the letters out Harry climbed into his bed and drew the curtains, unable to stop the smile that was plastered on his face.

"I'm finally here," he whispered himself, letting the feeling that for so long had eluded him sink over.

* * *

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	3. Book1: Chapter 3

**Hermione**

 _Please be time please be time please be time._ She thought to herself as she rolled over on her bed to look at the clock on her nightstand for probably the fiftieth time that morning. It showed 6:30 am.

"Close enough!" she whispered excitedly to herself and sat upright in her bed, stretching out all the cobwebs and aches that had made themselves present over the night. Last night she had managed to get exactly zero hours of sleep. How all of the other first year girls in her dorm had managed to fall asleep she would never know, and how one of them, in particular, could snore that loud was an even greater mystery. The excitement, nervousness, and anxiety had been much too overwhelming for her, similar to that of the feeling she always got on the night of Christmas Eve.

After she had unpacked all of her school supplies and clothes last night following the opening ceremonies, she had immediately built a fort of books on her bed and she began diving into some last minute reading. Even if she had basically already finished all the books she had bought over the summer she still felt like she would be miles behind everyone else here at Hogwarts. That fear of being so far behind everyone else had only deepened last night at the opening feast.

As she had been eating her first ever meal at Hogwarts she couldn't help but overhear a lot of the nearby conversations from the other first year Ravenclaws. Most of them were telling stories of the magic their parents let them practice over the summer or the advanced spell-books they had borrowed from an older brother or sister. Hermione had never so much as even tried to practice a spell yet, and she didn't even know what an advanced book of magic might look like. The most magical thing she had ever done was the one burst of accidental magic she did when she turned her mother's dental drill into a red balloon when she was eight. So basically this meant that she was screwed.

A yawn escaped her mouth as she shook the last few kinks out of her shoulder and stepped into her slippers on the floor beside her bed. Even with all of the fears she currently held she still couldn't help the smile that was growing on her face and the excitement building inside her that she still felt at the moment. It was finally time! The first day of classes is today!

It took a little bit of self-control on her part to not burst out in an excited squeal, but thankfully she was able to keep the excitement bottled up and not embarrass herself in front of the sleeping Ravenclaws. She reached over to her nightstand and picked up her class schedule, which corners were already worn down from being handled practically twenty-four-seven, and looked under the Monday section again:

 _7:00-9:00am_ _Breakfast_

 _9:15-10:15am Charms_

 _11:00am-12:00pm_ _Potions_

 _12:00-1:00pm Lunch_

 _1:15-2:15pm_ _Dark Arts_

 _2:30-3:30pm_ _History of Magic_

Her first day of classes certainly did not look like an easy day by any stretch. Already on the first day of school, her schedule was jam-packed, and she imagined that meant that the rest of her day after her classes were finished would also be filled with homework and reading. Not that she really minded having homework or readings to do, though.

She made her way over to the small oak bookshelf beside her nightstand and picked out the one dark arts book that was not already on her bed. She set the book down on her bed and sifted through the large pile of books spewed across her bed for the ones that she would need today. Thankfully her parent's had splurged for her over the summer and bought her a new larger school bag, there was no way her old one would have held this many large books.

After she found all the books she would need for today's classes she carefully placed each of the books into her new school bag along with the rest of the supplies she thought she made need for the day. Satisfied that she had everything she would need she made her way over to the small dresser next to her bed and got out her uniform.

She had tried on her school robes a few times before over the summer and had even fallen asleep a number of times over the summer whilst she was still wearing them, but even still it was hard to get used to wearing robes when you had grown up wearing nothing but jeans your entire life. Getting used to wearing a tie had also been difficult. Learning to tie a tie had been easy enough thanks to her dad, but she still wasn't used to the feeling of having something that tight around her neck all day long.

She pulled on the white button-down shirt and quickly tied the blue and bronze Ravenclaw tie around the collar before throwing on the gray Hogwarts vest over everything and slipping her arms into her black school cloak. Looking at the clock again she saw that there was still had twenty minutes before breakfast officially started but she figured it would be okay if she arrived at the Great Hall a little early. Plus she was still slightly terrified about getting lost in the castle, so leaving early would give her some extra time in case that fear became a reality.

She quietly threw her school bag over her shoulder and instantly regretted that decision as her body was dragged down to the floor with a thud from the sheer weight of the bag. With her cheeks now a bright red she glanced around the girl's dorm to see if she had woken anyone up with all of her racket, thankfully it seemed that she had not. Now prepared for the weight of the bag she more slowly placed the strap over her shoulder and quietly tiptoed across the dorm to the door.

The Ravenclaw common room was, for the most part, empty. One female student, who looked to be at least four or five years older than Hermione, had a book open on her lap and was reading by one of the many fireplaces scattered about. Other than that though common room was quiet and void of any other students. The older girl paid her no mind as she made her way across the common room and towards the entrance door.

The entrance to the Ravenclaw common room was located atop of one of the many towers of the castle. From the map of the castle in _Hogwarts, a History_ that she had studied religiously she remembered that from the base of the castle it was just two lefts and one right before she would arrive at the Great Hall, hopefully.

The tower's staircase felt endless, and Hermione had to imagine that everyone in Ravenclaw must have the most toned legs out of all the other houses. She was only a few steps in and already she could feel a slight burning in her calves, the weight of her bag probably didn't help things. Thankfully as she started to have to catch her breath from near exhaustion she arrived at the bottom of the spiral staircase and headed off towards the Great Hall.

Finding her way to the Great Hall thankfully didn't take long. After turning the second corner she had begun to second guess herself but thankfully a few of the pictures in the hallway were nice enough to help her keep on the right path. The Great Hall still looked as magical empty of students as it had last night during the ceremonies.

Although there were a few million fewer stars covering the ceiling, the current view of a clear blue sky with a hint of purple was just as striking. She made her way over to the Ravenclaw table, her footsteps echoing off the walls of the Great Hall, and found herself a seat at the center of the table. She thought that the Great Hall had sort of a beautiful eerie silence when you were there alone. It was almost as if you could hear the magic flowing through the bricks on the wall when there weren't other students their chatting away. It was very peaceful and calming being in here by yourself.

As much as she wanted to just sit there and enjoy the moment Hermione Granger was never one to waste precious time. Reaching into her bag she pulled out her charms book and immediately skimmed to the page she had previously bookmarked last night.

 _The Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra) is a charm used to force another person's legs to begin dancing uncontrollably. The spell requires a clear, unobstructed view of the target to be successfully cast. The spell is classified as a jinx and can be easily recognized by is distinguished lime green color. Proper hand movement for casting the spell should follow the following movements: 8 o'clock-10 o'clock-12 o'clock-2 o'clock-4 o'clock._

Hermione made the spell's hand motions with her quill as she read the spell's description. While it was hard to think of when she would ever need to cast a spell like the _tarantallegra_ spell most of the other spells she had already read about in her charms book seemed amazing. Although she had yet to actually attend a class at Hogwarts yet, based off of what she had read of all of her courses so far she certainly thought that charms seemed like one of the more interesting and useful ones.

She had spent most of her night last night rereading her two charms books. Not only was she reading ahead in the subject more because she found it interesting, but as a Ravenclaw, she felt she had a certain duty to make sure she was good at charms since her Head of House would be her charms professor. Hermione had read all about her Head of House as well as all of her other professors in her history book. Though most of the information in her texts were limited one thing was made clear and that was that to be a professor at Hogwarts it appeared you had to be one of the best.

Her Head of House, Professor Flitwick, was not only one of the most published authors on shield spells, but he also was part of England's national orchestra and was the current European Dueling Champion. Almost all of her other professors resumes looked just as impressive if not even more impressive, which meant impressing her professors would either be impossible or close to it.

She desperately hoped that she would get to learn how to cast some spells today in her classes and that wizarding first day of classes was not like her grade-school first day of classes where all the teachers did was introduce themselves. She was growing tired of reading about all these interesting spells in all of her books but not knowing how to actually cast them. She was hoping that as soon as she learned a few spells in class that she could start practicing spells on her own.

The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the Great Hall as a group of two older looking Hufflepuff girls made their way into the Hall. Hermione checked her watch to see it showing five minutes until breakfast time before returning back to her book. After successfully making it through three more pages in her charms book a small pop sounded throughout the Hall and a plethora of small pots, plates, and bowls appeared on the table, all of them filled with an amazing spread of anything you could possibly want for breakfast.

It was hard to contain oneself from overeating when there were so many options to choose from. Hermione figured one of the first lessons she would have to learn at Hogwarts would be self-control. Not wanting to gain fifteen pounds on her first day of classes Hermione settled for two pancakes, a banana, and a few slices of bacon. She ate her breakfast slowly and continued to read through her charms book, knowing that she still had quite a while until she had to be at her first class.

As she made her way further through her breakfast and book more and more students began to trickle in. It made her feel a little better when she saw that most of the students who looked about her age also had bags under their eyes and looked tired too. One cute looking brown-haired Gryffindor boy still even had an imprint of a book on the side of his face she noted as he walked into the Great Hall yawning. She was glad she had not been the only one who could not sleep last night.

A group of older Ravenclaws eventually sat down at their table a few feet away and began chatting loudly about their class schedules. Hermione tried to not eavesdrop at first but eventually found it impossible to tune them out. The group of Ravenclaws were all dreading having potions for first period and apparently thought Professor Snape was the worst professor at the school. The more the group talked the more nervous it made Hermione and she had to mentally force herself to stop listening out of fear that she might start to panic.

After trying to return to reading her book and failing a few times she packed her book back into her bag and decided that she would head to her first class early. Hopefully, she could find a quiet spot there to read.

The castle's halls were much livelier now than they had been earlier, most of the students were all headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast but a few others who all looked like first years had maps in their hands and were wandering the halls aimlessly, appearing to be lost. Hermione looked around at the groups of students who passed her trying to see if maybe she could find Marik, who was at this point the only person she actually knew here at Hogwarts.

She was upset when she learned that Ravenclaws shared all of their classes with Hufflepuff and that she would not have any classes with Marik, who had been sorted into Slytherin. The two of them had promised on the train ride over that they would sit next to each other during their classes but now it seemed that their plan had been ruined. Hermione had been ecstatic that Marik and she had seemed to get along well enough. Marik had been nice enough to her during their trip to Diagon Alley with Professor McGonagall together but she had never really expected that he would actually look for her again after that.

Much to her delight though Marik had searched the Express until he had found her compartment and the two of them talked and exchanged notes the entire train ride. Even after the train ride he had stuck by her side for as long as he could. The two of them had ridden the boats to the castle and even stuck together as they waited to be sorted.

Hermione liked Marik; he was easy to talk to and seemed to be a lot like her in many ways. The entire time they talked on the Express not once was there an awkward moment of silence. He even seemed to be just as much of a bookworm as she was. He was funny too and seemed to bring herself out of her shell a little. Never would she have imagined herself cracking jokes or placing bets with someone during her first time at Hogwarts, but sure enough that is exactly what she had done with Marik.

The two of them had whispered and placed bets on where someone would end up being sorted during the sorting ceremony, and Hermione had found herself during the ceremony having to cover her mouth before she let out a burst of laughter at least three different times. All day yesterday thanks to Marik, along with everything else, had turned the day into one of the greatest days of her life. She was not sure what Marik actually thought of her, but she really enjoyed being with Marik and considered him to be her first real friend at Hogwarts, well her first real friend anywhere for that matter.

Hermione would not deny the fact that she was, as all of her grade-school classmates would call her, a nerd and because of that title had grown up with a lonely childhood. She had been at the top of her class in every subject growing up and had earned the reputation of being a bookworm since probably the day she learned to read. The kids she grew up with liked the kids that could kick the kickball far or talk in funny voices, not the girl that could read at an eighth grade level in the first grade. It wasn't that she had never tried to make friends and fit in, she had. It was just that no one wanted to be friends with the know-it-all girl or the girl that never could hang out because she had to go home and read.

She really did hope Marik considered her a friend or at least maybe would in the future. She really did not want to go another year friendless and alone, especially after getting a taste at what having a friend at Hogwarts could be like. However, as she looked around the hallway she had no luck finding her silver-eyed friend.

The walk to her charms classroom was a short one, only made longer from the number of students now in the hallway that she had to walk around. The door to the classroom was unfortunately still locked so Hermione was forced to retreat to a nearby bench outside of the classroom to continue her reading. Thankfully the hallway her charm's classroom was located in was one of the less crowded hallways in the castle and focusing on her book was not as difficult as it had been in the Great Hall.

"Ahh, the _spongify_ spell. That is one of the harder beginner spells for first years, everyone seems to have trouble with the _jee_ sound at the middle." Hermione jumped a little as the voice interrupted her from her book. She looked up from the pages to see her Head of House and charms professor now moving to unlock the door to the classroom. "Coming in?" he asked her as he opened the door.

"Yes, sir," was all she managed to get out as she quickly stood up, grabbed her bag, and followed the professor into the classroom. The classroom was much different than any classroom she had ever been in before. The desks and chairs were setup in a sort of lecture hall type of setup that all faced down to a podium which stood in front of two huge bay windows at the center of the room. The professor hummed a tune as Hermione made her way down the stairway and grabbed a seat at the front of the classroom.

"It is Miss Granger, isn't it?" the professor asked her as he took out some old looking books from his bag and organized them on the desk.

"Yes sir, how did you know?" she asked him, amazed that he somehow already knew her name even when they had never met.

"It is a Head of House's job to know all of his students. How are you getting along so far, have you found everything you need?" he asked her, a sincere look on his face.

"Yes sir I have, thank you," she replied, feeling much more nervous now than she had earlier.

"Very good. If you ever need anything please make sure you ask. Now, if you will please excuse me I need to head back to my office for a bit before class starts," the professor said with a friendly looking smile and made his way out of the classroom.

For a good thirty minutes, Hermione sat alone in the classroom, still reading in her charms book. Slowly students started to trickle into the classroom in small groups, seemingly all of them already all friends and deep in some conversation or another. The entire classroom was filled to the brim with first year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs before the professor returned to the classroom. All of the chatter amongst the students died down as the professor cleared his throat and stood up on the platform behind the podium.

"Welcome everyone to charms. I am Filius Flitwick and I will be your charms professor throughout the entirety of your time at Hogwarts. First year charms is an extremely demanding year, as you do not yet have any foundations to build off of like you will in your future years. Because of this, our schedule will be busy and we will not waste any time. With that in mind let us get started. Everyone, please open up your copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_ to page three for me, and Miss Granger could you read us the passage at the top of the page," Professor Flitwick announced to the class and Hermione felt her heart's beating increase in its pace as she was being called on by the professor after a mere five seconds into the class. After fumbling through her pages she found the correct page and tried to calm herself down a bit before she started reading.

"The levitation charm is one of the first spells learned by any young witch or wizard. With the charm, a witch or wizard can make things fly with the flick of a wand. The charm is an excellent test of your magic skills, wand control, and above all, patience. There are a number of lesser variations of the levitation charm, such as the hover charm, the rocket charm, and the floating charm, just to name a few, but the levitation charm remains the original and best," Hermione finished reading the passage out loud and she was sure everyone could have heard the nervousness in her voice.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. The levitation spell is the first spell that you all will be learning at Hogwarts. As the passage that Miss Granger just read us stated, it is a very good spell for introducing you to how spellcasting works.

"Now make sure you are listening very carefully and are paying attention to my wand movement. The incantation for the levitation spell is _wingardium leviosa,_ and your wand movement should look like this," Professor Flitwick said, moving his hand slowly to show the class.

"Now everyone take out a quill from your bag and practice casting the spell on the quill. Keep in mind proper incantation and wand movement when casting is the most crucial part of successfully casting a spell. Many spells share similar incantations and wand movements, so if you do not do them both correctly the desired spell will not be successful. Now go," the professor announced and immediately started to walk around the classroom.

Hermione took out her quill and set it down on the desk about a foot in front of her. Taking out her wand she looked over the information in the book again, trying to memorize the phonetics of the incantation and the proper wand movements before she started. Feeling like she had it memorized well enough she raised her wand and tried to focus.

" _Wingardiom Leveosa!"_ She aimed her wand at her quill and waited, but nothing happened. " _Windgardium liveosa!"_ She again aimed her wand at the quill and again nothing happened. " _Wingardiem leviosa!"_ she said the spell again, this time with a little bit of frustration present in her voice. Still, nothing happened, though. After her third failure, she took a few seconds to calm her nerves down before going again. The book said the spell would test your patience, and she knew going into this that there was no way casting spells would be easy. While she took a quick break she looked to her left and right to see how everyone else in the class was doing, thankfully it seemed she was not the only one struggling.

" _Wingardium leviosa!"_ The Hufflepuff girl next to her cast the spell and Hermione was forced to stare on in awe as the girl's quill slowly levitated itself up a few feet into the air before falling back down onto the desk in front of the girl.

"Well done! Well done, Miss Chang! Did you see that everyone? Ten points to Hufflepuff!" Professor Flitwick said, sounding excited as he continued to walk across the classroom. The Hufflepuff girl named Miss Chang sitting next to her was beaming from ear to ear with a grin that made Hermione mad.

 _That should have been me!_ She thought angrily to herself, upset and not used to not being the first one to get something in class.

" _Wingardium leviosa!"_ For the fourth time, she pointed her wand at her quill and said the incantation. Much to her surprise and shock, her quill started levitating itself off of the desk and into the air. Hermione was so surprised that she only managed to get her quill about a foot into the air before it fell to the ground.

"Well done Miss Granger! Everyone make sure you are saying _gar-dee-um_ like Miss Cho and Miss Granger just did," Professor Flitwick announced to the class as he helped a nearby student out. Hermione was unable to contain the smile that had appeared on her face. She had just cast her first ever spell! She felt like the moment deserved some celebration, after all, she was now officially a witch! Mentally she shouted for joy for a few moments before picking her wand back up and attempting to successfully cast the spell a second time.

The rest of her first ever class at Hogwarts went by fairly well, although Hermione did find herself getting frustrated a number of times. Wizarding school was definitely more difficult than muggle schools. After her first success in levitating her quill over the next forty minutes of the class, she had only managed to levitate her quill three more times. The Hufflepuff girl next to Hermione had managed to levitate her quill over ten times, and the girl made it a point to clear her throat so that everyone in the class knew it each time she did too. All of which only added to Hermione's frustration more. Using magic was tough, and it felt like you had to get every single factor perfectly right to be even remotely successful and after each casting, you could feel a drain on your body.

"Alright everyone, good first class," Flitwick announced to the room, silencing all of the people still trying to cast the levitation spell. "Good work today everyone. Today's lessons are what you can expect a majority of our lessons in this class to be like, though as we get further into the year and into more advanced charms you may find yourself practicing three or four spells in a single class.

"I would like you all to go ahead and read the entire first chapter of both of your books before next class, and I expect everyone here to be able to cast the levitation spell consistently by the next class. It is from here on out where I will truly begin to push you and your magic. You are dismissed," Flitwick announced to the class and everyone began stuffing their books into their bags and leaving the room. Hermione quickly followed suit and carefully placed all of her class materials back into her bag. Instead of leaving the classroom though she made her way up to the front of the classroom to speak with her Head of House.

"Miss Granger, good job today in class," Professor Flitwick said, a friendly smile placed on his face as he spoke.

"Thank you, sir," she replied, feeling happy that he thought she had done a good job.

"What can I do for you? Please make it quick, I am in a hurry," Professor Flitwick asked, packing up his materials as he did so.

"I was wondering if it would be possible to meet with you later or at some point in the week to go over some more things and get some extra help? It's just that I come from a muggle family so all this is new to me and I don't want to get left behind everyone else," she asked him, hopeful that she could get some private lessons with him.

"Miss Granger, I have not done private lessons with a first year in over thirty-four years. While, yes as a professor I do give certain students private lessons, I deem that privilege to only those who have proven their worth and abilities. If you want private lessons with me, or any professor for that matter you will have to earn it. Our time is valuable and we will not waste it on everyone.

"As to you growing up in a muggle family, you will find Miss Granger that a large portion of the castle is in the same boat as you are. And that is not an excuse for you falling behind. You have all the same resources that everyone else has here at the school, if you do not wish to fall behind I suggest that you fully utilize those resources," Flitwick replied, his tone blunt, and straight to the point. His reply caught her off guard and she was sure he was able to see that she was upset.

"I understand sir," she replied in a quiet, hushed tone after a few moments.

"Me not giving you private lessons does not mean that you are not a good student, Miss Granger. You were sorted into my house after all, so I am more than aware that you will be a good student. Work hard and study harder, show me your potential. When I see that, we can talk again," Flitwick replied, his smile once again warm.

"I will sir, thank you," Hermione replied, forcing a smile up. Following the decline in private lessons from Professor Flitwick, Hermione left the classroom and made her way towards the castle's dungeons.

She was still feeling flustered from Professor Flitwick's answer. Even though he had said that he did not do private lessons with any first years she still felt in some way that she personally was not good enough. That feeling combined with all of the frustration she felt from getting shown up by the Hufflepuff girl in class was putting her in a bad mood.

These feelings were all so new to her. She had never been told no by a professor when she had asked for extra help. And the only time she had ever been beaten in a class was in her fourth grade French class, but that was only because the kid who beat her was French. She didn't know how to handle these emotions. Part of her wanted to cry from the stress they were causing and the other half wanted to go to the library and drown herself in books so that she could prove to Flitwick that she had potential and also to shut that stupid Hufflepuff girl up in their next charms class. For now, though, she would just try and bottle them up. It was potions class time.

The dungeons of the castle gave off a much darker vibe than the rest of the castle did. No pictures hung on the walls of the dungeon and the only thing that stood out from the gray castle bricks was the occasional large oak door or lit torch lighting the hallways.

It was easy enough to find the potions lab. Most of the students who had been in her charms class were making their way through a door at the end of the hallway they were in. She followed them all in and pushed her way through the crowd to the front of the classroom where she grabbed a seat at a round table. The rest of the class filled in slowly and a few new faces showed themselves, but still it was no one she recognized.

All of the other tables in the classroom filled up quickly and Hermione's table was the last to fill up. The three other students who took the seats next to her only did so after confirming there were none elsewhere. Unlike in the charms classroom where students had been talking loudly amongst themselves while waiting for the professor, in this room, no one was saying a word. Apparently, everyone had overheard the same rumors that Professor Snape was the worst professor at Hogwarts. Just as the silence began to get awkward the door to the classroom slammed open and all of the lights in the classroom dimmed.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those, select few, who possess, the predisposition. . . I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.

"Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention! Miss Chang! Do you plan on whispering throughout the entirety of my lesson, or will you allow me to continue?" Professor Snape spat, glaring at the Hufflepuff girl that Hermione had been sitting next to in charms class.

 _I like him already._ Hermione thought to herself with a grin as she watched the Chang girl sink lower in her seat with a terrified look on her face.

"Thank you," Professor Snape said after a few seconds of silence and glaring at the girl. "Now we will not be wasting any time. Open your books to page seventeen. Today we will be brewing the _wideye potion._ I have already provided the materials and supplies you will need for today's lesson and today will be the only day that I do this for you.

"I don't expect any of you to be able to actually get this right, but the _wideye potion_ is a good way to show you how the brewing process works. Begin," Professor Snape ordered and the class immediately started rushing to begin their work, none of them wanting to upset him

Hermione opened her book up to page seventeen and started reading before doing anything else.

 _The wideye potion, also known as the awakening potion, was a potion which prevented the drinker from falling asleep and could also be used to awaken someone from drugging or concussion. It acted as an antidote for the draught of living death._

 _Brew times:_

 _Pewter Cauldron: 4 Hours_

 _Brass Cauldron: 2 Hours_

 _Copper Cauldron: 1 Hour_

 _Potion Level: 1_

 _Brewing Instructions:_

 _Step one_

 _Add six snake fangs to the mortar_

 _Add four measures of standard ingredient to the mortar_

 _Add six dried billywig stings to your cauldron_

 _Heat on a medium temperature for thirty seconds_

 _Finely crush the ingredients in the mortar_

 _Add four measures of the crushed ingredients to your cauldron_

 _Stir three times, clockwise_

 _Wave your wand in a counterclockwise motion around the cauldron_

 _Leave to brew for thirty minutes_

 _Step two_

 _Add two sprigs of wolfsbane to your cauldron_

 _Stir three times, counterclockwise_

 _Wave your wand in a clockwise motion around the cauldron_

 _Additional info: It has been found that substituting Dragon bone instead of billywig stings will increase the strength of the finished potion. It has also been found that the addition of three strands of unicorn hair after step one, part five will increase the potions durations. It should be noted that using either one of these additional ingredients will immediately increase the potion level up six levels and will result in the potion becoming more unstable during the brewing process._

Hermione had read through her potions book before over the summer and it still made about as much sense then as it did now. She had absolutely no idea what each of these ingredients was and honestly found it hard to believe a few of them were even real things. Seeing that most of the other students in the class had apparently decided to just dive right in and were already adding ingredients to their cauldrons Hermione scoured the table, collecting the correct number of each of the ingredients, which thankfully Professor Snape had labeled, that she would need for the whole potion.

After gathering the correct number of ingredients from around the table and double checking to make sure she had gotten everything correct Hermione added the first ingredient.

Brewing potions seemed to be simple enough unlike spell casting, and in some ways felt very therapeutic. It felt like doing math problems to her in a lot of ways. You added blank plus blank and that you got you the solution you were looking for. As long as you followed the recipe list and took your time it wasn't too bad. She really enjoyed it overall. Especially after struggling with that levitation charm as much as she did in charms class brewing the potions felt relaxing.

The other three students sitting at her table seemed to be struggling mightily with their potions. One of them spilled his cauldron twice in the first few minutes of brewing and another one of the students had somehow set his potion on fire after he added an ingredient at the wrong time. It made Hermione feel good to see herself doing better than the other students at her table. She didn't want them to fail by any means, but there was nothing better than the feeling you get when you beat someone in something.

After about ten minutes of slowly following the steps, Hermione finished step one and had to wait thirty minutes for the potion to brew itself. Looking over her potion it seemed, for the most part, to resemble how it was supposed to look at this step, and judging by the fact that her potion had not caught on fire she would say that overall it looked like she had done everything right so far. For the next few minutes, while she waited, she reread the recipe list and instructions.

"Professor Snape, do you mind if I ask a question?" she asked the professor as he made his way over to their table to inspect their potions.

"You added the billywig stings a step too early. And you had your heat on high not medium, you can tell by that awful smell. Pour these both out and reread the instructions for the rest of the class. I don't want you wasting any more of my ingredients," Professor Snape spat at two of the students sitting across from her before turning his attention to look at her potion.

"Well done Miss. . ." the professor said, waiting for her to finish his sentence.

"Granger, sir. Hermione Granger," Hermione answered nervously. She had been caught off guard from him saying that she had done well with her potion so far. After everything he had said to the two people before her she had not expected to receive a compliment.

"Well done Miss Granger. I would suggest though next time that when you stir that you do so a little more slowly and make sure you get deeper into the cauldron. Look here," Snape added, pointing at a few specks of ingredients that had collected at the surface of her potion. "You can avoid having that happen by making sure you are stirring everything inside the cauldron. Now, what was your question?" Snape asked her, his expression looking annoyed.

"Thank you, sir, I will make sure to do that next time," she thanked him for the advice quickly before continuing. "I know in a large number of the potion recipes I read in our book say that materials from unicorns and dragons can be used for added effects or different results. Is there a particular reason why it is just dragons and unicorns, and nothing else?"

"Yes, there is. Dragons and unicorns are very magical creatures. Unlike many creatures you find out in the wild, dragons and unicorns have a much higher natural level of magic coursing through them, therefore materials collected from them have much more magic in them than many of your standard ingredients. You will find though as you advance in potions that they are not the only two, though.

"For example, the _girding potion_ that my second years, _tried_ , to brew in my last class has the possibility for you to substitute thestral hair for one of its ingredients. There are many possibilities in brewing potions, Miss Granger; most of them depend on the person brewing them," Professor Snape finished answering her question, his expression and tone never changing the entire time.

Satisfied with his answer and having her curiosity currently quenched Hermione waited the last few minutes out before moving on to the second phase of brewing. This phase was much shorter and only took another three minutes for her to finish. Overall she was happy with her first ever potion, and compared to the rest of the class it looked like she was one of the only ones who had managed to make it to the end. _That's more like it!_ She thought to herself, internally smiling a bright proud smile.

"We are out of time. Those of you who somehow managed to not screw up like the rest of your classmates did please bring your cauldrons to my desk," Snape ordered, and made his way to the front of the class. Hermione, along with four other first years carried their cauldrons to the front of the class and waited for whatever it was Snape planned on doing with them. Snape pulled out an odd looking device that looked similar to a thermometer that her father used to test the temperature of his steaks and stuck it in one of the other first year's cauldron.

"Seventy-six percent accurate Mr. Smith, one more percentile and your potion would have failed the test and probably killed the drinker." Snape sneered as he stuck the device into the next potion on the line. Hermione gulped as she saw that hers would be the last one he checked.

"Seventy-nine percent accurate, Miss Edgecombe. That isn't much better than Mr. Smith's was at all," Snape said, looking annoyed again as he moved the device to the third potion in the line. "Eighty-two percent accurate, Mr. Fletchley," Snape said, and both Hermione and the Hufflepuff boy named Fletchley waited for Snape to say something else like _good job_ or _well done_ , Snape never did, though. Hermione's palms got a little sweaty as Snape stuck the device into her cauldron and she mentally prepared herself for an insult on its inaccuracy.

"Ninety-three percent accurate. Well done, Miss Granger. It appears we have at least one competent brewer in this class," Hermione found herself blushing at the compliment, and could feel all the eyes in the classroom staring her down. "I expect a much better performance out of everyone in the next class. I also expect five inches of parchment on the common ingredient list and their different uses by next class. You are dismissed," Snape said, and immediately turned and left the classroom before anyone had even registered what he had actually said.

Unable to hide the small smile that had appeared on her face following Snape's words, Hermione made her way back to her table and began packing her books and materials up.

The halls of the castle were even more crowded now than they had been earlier. All around her students were making their ways down to the Great Hall for lunch and the walls of the castle echoed with chatter all about the student's classes and first days so far. Hermione followed a large group of Ravenclaws through the halls until they reached the Great Hall. As she made her way towards the Ravenclaw table she looked over towards the Slytherin table to see if she could find Marik there. No luck again, though, as it seemed that a large portion of the Slytherins were either still in class or just not in the Hall now.

She found a seat near the far end of the Ravenclaw table and without hesitation piled food onto her plate. She had built up quite the appetite in her first two classes and new if she wanted to make it through her next two alive she would need all the food she could get. The volume level in the Great Hall was much louder during lunchtime than it had been at breakfast. It was practically impossible to read in there and even more impossible to try and think clearly when your thoughts kept getting interrupted by the person sitting next to you's conversation.

Wanting to go read some more in preparation for her next class, which was dark arts, Hermione ate as quickly as she could before grabbing her bag again and heading off towards the second floor of the castle.

Dark arts was one of her classes where she had literally no idea what to expect. All she could tell from the book that they were assigned to buy was that they would learn some spells, some history, and little bits and pieces seemingly from all of the other subjects there were. Each chapter in the book seemed to jump from one random topic to another so the class was one of the ones she was most nervous about.

Thankfully the door to the class was unlocked and Hermione was able to grab a seat at the front of the classroom and read in peace for a while before the first few students scrambled in. It appeared that she would be in fact sharing most of her classes with the same students in each one. Only occasionally did there seem to be a new face sprout up. The class filled up quickly, most people seeming to be reenergized from eating a large lunch. After about ten more minutes of reading, a scrawny looking man with a turban on his head made his way into the classroom.

"M-my name is P-Professor Quirrell. I will b-be your professor f-for this class. Today we will be starting a l-lecture on gnomes t-that we w-will finish next class. W-who can tell me s-something about g-gnomes?" Professor Quirrell asked the class. Hermione found it hard to believe that someone who seemed this nervous could be an expert at anything defense related. Guess we will see. "Yes, y-you," Professor Quirrell said, pointing at a Hufflepuff girl in the back. Hermione recognized her as one of the girls that had been sitting at her table during potions.

"Gnomes are magical creatures that are known to infest the gardens of wizarding houses. They are usually shorter than a foot tall and brown in color and their saliva is supposedly useful for a small number of things," the girl answered with a grin, looking confident that she was correct.

"Very good! Three p-points to Hufflepuff. S-she hit the nail on the h-head! Gnomes are only k-known to have been f-f-found in Europe and North America, and are p-primarily found in locations that get a lot of r-rain. C-can anyone tell me w-why this is?" the professor asked the class again. Hermione remembered the answer to this question and raised her hand up high."Yes, y-you," the professor said, pointing at Hermione. She stood up and readied her answer.

"Gnomes live in areas that receive high amounts of rain because their skin dries out very quickly and requires high amounts of water to prevent it from doing so. Gnomes also make their homes in gardens, usually those with lots of potatoes, and most gardens tend to get a lot of rain or at least irrigation," Hermione answered the professor and quickly sat down after he nodded.

"Yes Yes, w-well done. Now I am s-sure a number of y-you are wondering w-why in a class labeled dark arts are you being l-lectured on gnomes. W-would anyone care to take a g-guess?" Professor Quirrell asked the class. The cogs turned inside Hermione's head but no answer came. Professor Quirrell was right, she was curious to know why gnomes, who seemed harmless, had something to do with the dark arts. Apparently, she wasn't the only one in class who had no clue as not a single hand was raised.

"While g-gnomes to most people m-may seem to be completely harmless c-creatures and in most cases they are, gnomes like m-many areas of magic can be used f-for darker intentions. In the first Great Wizarding War, the w-wizard Grindelwald utilized g-gnomes in his efforts to conquer Europe. Grindelwald allied h-himself with the g-gnome populations all across Europe and d-due to their harmless nature no one thought to look t-t-twice at them. This worked perfectly for Grindelwald's p-p-plans.

"As Miss G-granger told us a few moments ago g-gnomes are known to make their homes in gardens. I'm sure m-many of you who have grown up in w-wizarding households have come across one or two gnomes throughout your c-childhoods. Why is living in a g-garden important you ask? Can anyone tell m-me what languages gnomes are known to speak?" Professor Quirrell asked the classroom again. This time Hermione knew the answer and raised her hand again. "M-miss Granger," Professor Quirrell called on her after seeing that she was the only one with her hand up.

"Gnomes are known to be able to speak a rough dialect of the common tongue in the area they make their homes. So a gnome living in England would be able to speak a rough version of English. A gnome living in Germany would be able to speak a rough version of German. All gnomes are also able to speak gnomish," Hermione answered with a confident smile on her face.

"R-right you are, Miss Granger, three points to R-ravenclaw," Professor Quirrell said, making Hermione smile at not only having been the only one to know the answer but for also earning her house some points. "Now imagine the p-power one could achieve having practically every gnome in Europe under your c-control. What happens when a m-ministry worker talks too loudly in his house and a gnome overhears or w-when one of Grindelwald's enemies is t-trying to remain hidden and a gnome sees him? Because of the harmless g-gnomes Grindelwald essentially had one of the g-greatest systems of communication and spy networks in the w-world during the war.

"He was able to hear conversations many p-people thought were p-private. He was also able to communicate to areas being g-guarded against through his use of gnomes. Had the French Ministry of M-magic not found this out at the t-time they did during the war, slowing Grindelwald's rise to p-power may have been impossible and our world t-today may have been very different. So even s-something as unharmful as a g-garden g-gnome can be used by practitioners of the dark arts. So while gnomes themselves may be by no means a d-dark creature, the intent they were used for in this example makes them something p-potentially dark that we need to learn to d-defend against.

"This is what makes the d-dark arts so appealing to some and so frightful to others and this is why we n-need to learn about the dark arts. There is a q-quote from the famous wizard Machiavelli which says to _keep your friends close and your enemies closer._ This q-quote is the basis of how the d-dark arts class will work. To be able to d-defend yourself against p-practitioners of the dark arts you need to know what s-spells they use, what c-creatures you may come up against, and what artifacts may be dangerous. In a sense you have to b-be able think like a d-dark witch or wizard would and that is where this class c-comes in.

"B-before we can even begin to understand s-some of the ways in which dark wizards or witches tick, we need to first understand what in f-fact makes them dark. Who can tell me why we call this class dark arts, what makes it d-dark?" Professor Quirrell asked the class again. Much to her disappointment Hermione did not know the answer to this question. "Yes, y-you," Quirrell said, pointing to a Ravenclaw boy a few chairs down from Hermione.

"Because the magic they use is illegal," the Ravenclaw answered.

"Wrong. Anyone else want to t-take a stab at it?" Quirrell asked the class again. The Ravenclaw boy who had answered the question wrong sat down quickly, looking embarrassed at Quirrell's bluntness. "No one else? Very w-well then I will tell you.

"There are only currently four i-illegal spells to use in Britain. They are the t-three unforgivable curses as well as using the m-memory erase charm on another human. First off why are those f-four spells even illegal? And why is that there are m-many other spells that are considered dark but are not illegal? B-both questions have the same a-answer, and that is intent.

"Intent is everything in this class. Intent in m-magic is what separates those who fall under the category of d-dark practitioners from those who don't. W-which brings us back to the example of the gnome. The gnome is not dark. If it was I am sure that m-most of your families would be in trouble if the Ministry came to inspect your family's garden. However, the intent in which G-grindelwald used the gnomes during the w-war makes them fall under the umbrella of what can be considered the dark arts.

"Another example of this, and take n-note because this will be part of your homework, is the knockback jinx. The k-knockback jinx was one the first jinxes classified by the ministry to be a spell used by those in the dark arts. W-why is it then that it is not i-illegal and is a spell that is widely known and commonly used? A-again the answer to this is intent. The C-cult of the Dark Moon back in the f-fourteenth century used the knockback spell to throw their enemies off f-from the tops of a mountain as a way to make sacrifices for their many rituals.

"From this usage of the s-spell it is easy to see why many w-would consider the knockback jinx to be a dark spell. The spell doesn't always h-have to be used for intents as dark as this, though. For example again we can return to g-gnomes. Herb farmers all across Europe m-make use of the knockback jinx more than any other spell. When an herb farm is infested with g-gnomes and the crops are dying a farmer can use the knockback s-spell, which is highly effective at knocking out gnomes, to round up all the gnomes without k-killing or harming any creatures.

"So in this example, we can see the spell b-being used for good intentions. S-so during your time here at Hogwarts in this class you must always k-keep an open mind and understand that it most areas of magic the l-line in the sand that makes something dark is often g-grey and needs to be examined from all angles closely. We will learn m-many spells in this class that can be used for dark p-purposes. We will see many c-creatures, like the gnome, that can be used in ways to aid those in the dark. It is your job to use the s-spells and magic we learn here for the right intentions.

"Now for your homework. P-Professor Flitwick has made it c-clear to me that you should all be masters of the levitation spell by your next class with him. Therefore I feel c-confident that all of you will have an understanding on how spellcasting w-works by our next class as well. So I expect all of you to read the section on g-gnomes in your b-book if you have not already. I also expect each and every one of y-you to be able to cast the knockback j-jinx by our next class. Do not disappoint me. Class d-dismissed," Professor Quirrell announced and a few groans could be heard at the mention of them having homework.

Hermione gathered her materials into her bag and followed the slow moving group of students out of the classroom and into the once again crowded hallways of the castle.

The walk to her history of magic class was thankfully another short one. Unlike in the rest of her classes this time when she walked into the classroom she was not the first. Just like she always did she quickly made her way to the front of the classroom and found herself a seat in the front. When Hermione saw the teacher for the history of magic class it was hard not wonder if the man had been a part of most of what he would be teaching. Professor Binns looked like he had to be at least ninety years old if not older.

The amount of frustration Hermione had felt before this class was nothing compared to the frustration she was now feeling as the class slowly closed to an end. In potions class, it had appeared like she would not be that far behind everyone else. Even in charms, she had not seemed to be that far behind everyone else. In history of magic though it felt like she was years behind everyone else.

Professor Binns lectured the entire class on the origin of the Hogwarts castle. None of the information the professor lectured on had been in the book assigned to them and not a single one of the questions the professor asked the class did she know the answer too. That stupid Hufflepuff girl had known them all, though. The longer the class continued on the more Hermione's fear of being behind everyone else grew.

At the end of the class, she had written over six pages of notes on the lecture Professor Binns gave alone and felt still like she knew absolutely nothing. As the class was packing up to leave it took all the self-control she had in her not to cry as she overheard a few of her classmates say how easy the history of magic class had been for them. Hermione made a straight line for the nearest bathroom she could find following the history of magic class.

After making her way down two long hallways she finally stumbled across one and quickly ran to the nearest stall and slammed the door shut behind her. She tried to calm her breathing as she sat there, not wanting to actually cry.

She had known coming into Hogwarts that there was a chance she would be behind people and that there would be an even higher chance that she would not be the best student like she was used to being. She had even mentally prepared herself for the first day of classes and had come into today expecting it to be stressful and hard. Still, even with her mental preparations and her expectations she was finding it difficult to handle these new emotions.

She hated not knowing things, and when it came to magic even though she had read all of her books she still knew nothing. Even more than that she hated not being the best, and outside of in potions she had clearly not been the best. She was used to stressing but at the moment the stress was becoming too much as this entirely new world of magic seemed to be crashing down around her at an alarming pace. She would not let herself cry, though.

She was Hermione freaking Granger! If school got tough she would just get tougher. If she didn't know something she would go find a book and learn everything there was to know about it. She was not weak. Other people were weak, but she was not. She was always the best and in time things here would be no different. It was like Professor Flitwick said, she had all the resources available to her here she just had to use them.

She allowed herself thirty more seconds of feeling bad for herself before she wiped the water that had built in her eyes and slowed her breathing back to normal. She looked at her watch and saw that she had plenty of time left in the day.

 _Okay Hermione Granger, time to go kick some ass in the library and make today the last day that you let things get to you. You are a witch and it is time to put in the work so you can show the world how freaking could of a witch you have the potential to be._ She internally shouted at herself.

With that, Hermione collected herself and made her way out of the bathroom. She had to walk against the crowds of students through the hall, most of whom were either walking back to their dorms to sleep or out to the grounds to relax, to get to the library. Once in the library she found herself a table, which was easy since most of them were empty, and went exploring through all of the many shelves until she found as many books as she could carry.

Once she was satisfied with her collection of books she opened up in the first one and set out on learning everything she could. She continued studying and researching like this for the rest of the day. She ignored the rumbling of her stomach once dinner time came around and she ignored the tiredness in her eyes that came about as the sky outside of the nearby windows darkened. Hermione Granger was on a mission, and she would not let anything slow her down.

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	4. Book1: Chapter 4

**Marik**

The Great Hall was packed to the brim with students by the time Marik arrived for breakfast. Throughout the week when classes were in session there were hardly ever more than a hundred students at most in the Hall at breakfast time. However, on the weekends it was as if everyone in the castle could be found inside the large Hall. It took Marik a few seconds of searching to find an open spot in the crowded Slytherin table and as soon as he found his seat he dove straight into the nearby bread bowl and his book.

At the moment Marik was reading a rather interesting book on beginner's dueling that Professor Quirrell had loaned him. From the mold growing on some of the pages the book was no doubt many years older than Marik was, though the material certainly had not lost its value over time. His bookmark was placed in the book's section on defensive spells, where he had been reading up on shield spells for his and Quirrell's next private lesson.

Out of all of Marik professors, Quirrell had quickly become Marik's favorite, though that was probably due mainly to the fact that out of all of his Professors, Quirrell had been the only one to give him extra help outside of class. Inside of class Quirrell was a stuttering nervous wreck who appeared more likely to run away from anything dark arts related than to defend himself against it. However, when it was just the two of them working together out of class Quirrell was an entirely different person who certainly knew what he was talking about.

In the first two weeks of classes he and Quirrell had only had four private lessons together, but in those four lessons alone he had learned more magic and progressed his skills more than in the rest of his classes combined. Quirrell might go easy on his students in class, but during their private lessons Quirrell was anything but easy. Quirrell had Marik practicing spells that first years weren't even expected to know or learn. Even outside of their lessons the dark arts professor had Marik researching spells, jinxes, and charms on top of the rest of his class work and threatened to stop their private lessons if Marik showed up to their lessons slacking on his research.

A little extra work was no big deal though and in fact Marik welcomed the extra workload, especially when it meant he got to learn amazing magic that the rest of his classmates were not getting to learn. Only two weeks of classes had come and passed so far in the year, so Marik was by no means an expert at being a wizard or anything, but he did feel like he already was not only caught up with most of his classmates but also, with the help from Quirrell, was now ahead of many of them.

Coming into the year he had expected to be miles behind all of the magical born students in his classes but it seemed that most had either never been allowed to practice magic or never made the effort to try before coming to Hogwarts. It seemed that whether it was a school for magic or just a normal grade school there were always those students who tried hard and those who didn't. Marik was thankful he was one of the few who tried.

The first few days of classes had been rough, and Marik had averaged at most three or four hours of sleep each night. While the classes themselves were not that difficult, the amount of research and extra practice needed for each class was very demanding and time consuming. Marik had quickly become an almost permanent resident at the library since the first day of classes, only really leaving for classes, sleep, and to make the occasional trip to an empty practice room to practice some spells. Even though the work was hard, and certainly stressful, Marik was still in heaven here at Hogwarts, and wouldn't trade the work he was doing for anything.

Marik's favorite thing about the classes at Hogwarts, outside of learning all of the incredible breath-taking magic, was the fact that there was almost no homework. The educational style of Hogwarts was all about pushing yourself, doing the work on your own, and best of all, competition. In almost every school Marik had attended growing no matter where he lived, teachers always gave out homework, which was always just really busy-work. At Hogwarts though, outside of an occasional essay, the teacher's allowed you the time outside of classes to do what you pleased with the expectation that you use the free time wisely. While many of the students in his year, especially his house, chose to waste that free time Marik made sure he was taking full advantage of every minute he had.

When it came to anything school related Marik had never been the type of student who needed any extra motivation to try and excel or get ahead. He had always had the natural drive and desire to be the top of his class. That drive and desire to be the top in his class here at Hogwarts had been pushed even higher.

Everything at Hogwarts seemed to be based around competition. There was the House Cup, where students could earn points for their house by succeeding in their classes or doing good deeds for the school. There was the magical sport of Quidditch where each house would face off against the others throughout the year to win the Quidditch Cup. And even better than both of those, at least to Marik who could care less about Quidditch, were the yearly student/class rankings.

During the first day of classes a professor had gone over with all of the students how grading worked at Hogwarts. At the end of the year your grade and student/class ranking would be decided based on three things: a few exams and papers, your ability/performance demonstrated in the subject, and your end of year project for the class. The papers and exams were nothing new; Marik had always had papers and exams in all of his other schools. However the ability/performance portion of the grade and the end of year project were two things that were new to him.

The ability portion of the grade was fairly straightforward, though it did seem like there were many variables that went into it. For example in a subject like charms your ability/performance part of the grade depended mainly on how good you were at spellcasting and performing the spells learnt in class. However in classes like the dark arts it depended on many different things; like how much you answered and discussed in class, your knowledge of spells learned, knowledge of dark creatures, figures, and objects of the dark arts, _and_ how well you were able to cast every spell that was learnt in class.

The ability/performance portion of your final grade was something every professor was grading you on every class of the year. So that meant if you wanted high grades in your classes that you had to bring your best to class every day, and therefore had to put in the work out of class every night.

The end of year project was a lot more simpler to understand than the rest of the grading sections but a lot more stressful to think about. At the end of the school year every student in the classroom would present a project for every single class they took that year. The end of year projects for each class make up the largest portion of your overall grade for each class. Which means that a majority of your grades in each class all come down to one single thing at the end of the year, which also means that the majority of your year will be spent stressing over that one said thing.

If that wasn't bad enough, when it is time to present your projects they have to be presented in front of not only all the other students in your year, but also every teacher at Hogwarts. So if you messed up, there was no escaping the humiliation that was sure to follow.

The good thing about the projects though was that they could literally be done on anything you wanted, as long as they pertained to the subject in some way and you had the entire year to work on them. So that meant you had a ton of time and freedom in designing a project and the possibilities for what you could do were endless. However that also meant that deciding on what to do each project on was nearly impossible.

At the end of the year the professors would tally up and combine your grades on your essays and exams, your ability/performance grade, and your grade given on your end of year project to form your overall grade for the course. There are seven possible grades you can get in each class and go from best to worst in the following order: ' _M', 'O', 'E', 'A', 'P', 'D',_ and ' _T'_.

The ' _M'_ grade, also known as _Master_ ranking, is given to only to the student with the highest grade in the class. The ' _O'_ grade, also known as _Outstanding_ ranking, is given to the next top three students in the class. The ' _E'_ grade, also known as _Exceeds Expectations_ ranking, is given to the next top five students after those assigned the ' _O'_ grade.

The ' _A'_ grade, also known as _Acceptable_ ranking, is given to the following top twenty students after the ' _E'_ grade. The ' _P'_ grade, also known as _Poor_ ranking is given to the next ten students after the ' _A'_ grade. The ' _D'_ grade, also known as _Dreadful_ ranking is given to the remainder of the students in the class and means that you have failed the course and must retake it the following year.

As bad as that grade sounds there is still one grade worse than the ' _D'_ grade, and that is the ' _T'_ grade. The ' _T'_ grade, also known as _Troll_ ranking, means that you were the lowest ranked student in that class. A student who receives a ' _T'_ grade in a course not only is humiliated by knowing they are the worst in the class, but also is banned from ever taking that class again at Hogwarts. If a student somehow manages to receive two ' _T'_ grades in their time at Hogwarts they are immediately kicked out of the school.

If you are lucky enough to not get kicked out of the school at the end of the year every student, in every year level, is awarded a class rank by the professors based off of their final grades in their classes. As well each student is also assigned an overall year rank which is based off of all of your class rankings. This is where the competition of Hogwarts's educational style truly kicks in.

The number one ranked student in every course, outside of being named the best in your year for that course, also receives a number of things. The student has a chance to receive money from the ministry, depending on their end of year project, to continue research or practice on the project's topic. As well the student will automatically award their house with 150 points at the start of the next school year.

If that wasn't motivation enough at the start of every school year there was a special recognition ceremony where the students who achieved the top ranks in each class were recognized, and according to a few rumors sometimes even given gifts from the professors. The student who is given the rank of number one overall for each year also receives an automatic cash award from the Ministry of Magic and their name put on a plaque in the trophy case in the school along with all of the other rewards they may have earned.

When it came to sports Marik had never been a competitive person. When it came to school though Marik was as competitive as they come, and that competitive nature added with the competitive educational style of the school made one thing very clear to him, there was no way Marik was not trying to be the number one ranked student in his year.

From day one, as soon as he had learned of the ranking system in the school his already motivated work ethic had been kicked into an even higher gear. That was why even when the rest of the Slytherins sitting around him were goofing around he had a book open and was studying hard.

It was hard to read inside the crowded and conversation filled Great Hall and the constant laughing and bickering between his housemates around him only made his progress through his book slower. As he finished the section on the _protego_ spell and allowed himself a short break from the book to grab another piece of bread it seemed the current debate among the Slytherins around him was whether or not it was true that their Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was a mudblood or not. Why the Headmaster's blood status mattered or was that intriguing to them Marik had no idea. Marik stuck his nose back into his book as to avoid being dragged into their pointless debate.

After a few more pages and another piece of bread the Great Hall's noise level increased as hundreds of chirping owls and birds flew in through the open windows. The student's at all of the house tables struck new conversations up as a scrap of mail dropped from above in front of them. Marik closed his book and waited patiently for the usual Hogwarts brown barn owl to drop his copy of the _Daily Prophet._

Marik had opened up a subscription to the wizarding paper on his third day of classes. Outside of Hogwarts Marik had zero information of the world of magic and the paper was his one looking glass to the outside world. Though most of the stuff written in the paper was something uninteresting like who had been promoted to what position at the Ministry of Magic, occasionally there was an article that helped him discover some new facets about the world of magic.

Yesterday's article in particular had been an interesting interview with a famous spell creator named Esorin Hazard and Marik was hoping for another interesting article in today's paper. About two minutes into the mail drop Marik spotted the usual brown barn owl which flew directly towards him and dropped a copy of the paper directly on his now empty plate. Marik fed the owl a small piece of bread before it flew off before he unfolded the paper and took a look at the headline on the front page.

 _ **GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN**_

 _Late last night there was a break-in at Gringotts, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault in question had been emptied a few weeks back. "But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this morning._

 _This has been the first ever recorded break-in at Gringotts in which no culprit was captured or killed. In the previous three break-ins at Gringotts two culprits were killed by traps placed on the vaults and the third culprit was trapped inside the vault they were robbing for sixty-three years. Gringotts now need to readdress their security system. Goblin security specialists or combing the land for a better breed of security dragon to replace the now deemed useless existing ones. They are even going as far as examining muggle security systems._

 _Gringotts needs to get another security system in place before any more breaches occur. Wizards, witches all over the country are scratching their heads wondering how safe their money is in the so-called safest wizard bank. Head goblins are urging the wizarding community for calm._

The main article of the paper wasn't that interesting to Marik unfortunately. He knew for a fact that there was hardly any money to steal inside of the vault his family had gotten set up for them by Dumbledore. Outside of another small article on a new found usage for gnome hair in the common _sleeping potion,_ the rest of the paper unfortunately wasn't that informative or interesting either.

Having stuffed himself with as much bread as he could possibly eat and being disappointed from the lack of interesting news in the _Daily Prophet_ Marik collected his book and got up from the Slytherin table. With a free day from classes Marik had planned to spend his entire Saturday practicing a good number of the spells he had been reading up on throughout the week. Quirrell had told him that they would be learning basic dueling in their next session and had given him a long list of spells they would be using in said duel, so Marik had plenty of work he needed to practice before their next private session.

Marik left the Great Hall and made his way quickly through the busy castle up towards the third floor. Most of the third floor rooms were assigned to be practice rooms for spellcasting and were normally packed with students of all years casting incredible looking spells. Thankfully there were a good hundred rooms scattered across the third floor and finding an empty one usually didn't take too long. After a short two minutes of looking Marik found the first empty one and put his stuff on the desk inside.

He had never seen a wizarding duel much less been in one before. From his research though he figured he now at least had a decent grasp on the concept of dueling and what might take place. Wizarding duels were a lot like the old Wild West duels from movies. One on one combat that usually ended with a clear victor who had been either smarter or quicker than their opponent. In wizarding duels it appeared that speed, spellcasting ability, spell knowledge, and tactics were all factors, and the possibilities of what could happen in a duel seemingly endless.

The list of spells Quirrell had made for him was also seemingly endless. There were all sorts of spells on the list stretching from simple spells he had already learned in charms class to spells that descriptions were longer than some of the books he had seen in the library. It was tough to decide on a good starting point but eventually he settled on starting with defensive shield spells; figuring they were fresh on his mind and would no doubt be useful in a duel.

Marik flipped open the book he had just been reading in the Great Hall to the bookmarked section on shield spells and skimmed through the chapter until he arrived at the _protego_ spell and looked over its information one more time.

 _ **Protego:**_

 _The shield charm,_ _ **protego**_ _, is used to create a magical barrier to deflect physical entities and spells, in order to protect a certain person or area. Conjurations may sometimes rebound directly off it back towards the caster or in other cases, may ricochet off in other directions or dissipate as soon as they hit the shield. Advanced users of the charm will be able to aim the direction of the reflected spell wherever they please._

 _The proper incantation of the spell is_ _ **pro-TAY-goh**_ _. The spell's correct wand movements should begin at twelve o'clock and travel directly to six o'clock in one quick solid motion. The light of the spell can be invisible, however the caster will always be able to see a glimmer in the area in which the shield is present._

The spell seemed simple enough, at least in comparison to a majority of the other spells on the list and seemed like a good one to warm up with. After he felt like he had a good grasp on the wand movements and incantation he took his wand out from his bag and made his way to the center of the room and raised his wand into the air in front of him.

His lessons with Quirrell were the first thing that came to mind as he closed his eyes and concentrated. In Marik's first two days of spellcasting he had struggled miserably to consistently get off spells successfully. However, after just the first lesson with Quirrell he was now able to much more consistently get his spells off accurately.

Professor Flitwick and the beginner spell books all professed how incantation and wand movements were everything you needed to get a spell off. Quirrell also stressed this point but stressed that emotion and intent were just as important in spellcasting. Quirrell explained to him that spellcasting wasn't creating magical energy out of thin air. That just as it applied everywhere else in the universe energy could not be created nor destroyed with magic either.

Casting spells required the caster to take magical energy from their body to power spells. How this power came out depended on the imagination, emotions, incantations, and intentions of the caster. To drive his point home Quirrell had shown off some incredible wandless and wordless magic creating a roaring fire at the center of their practice room and changing its size and shape as he held the spell, making the point that just by him imagining what he wanted his spell to do and fueling it with emotion were enough to cast and command spells.

After that lecture Marik had practiced the rest of the lesson with Quirrell on the _expelliarmus_ spell. At first Marik's spell had come out as a little more than a thin ball of scarlet light, but by the end of their lesson and with the help of Quirrell's advice Marik was casting a full beam of powerful scarlet energy across the room. He had even managed to control the motion of his spell in the air by the end of the lesson.

With Quirrell's lessons in mind he focused his mind on the _protego_ spell. In his mind he imagined a shield, the Hylian shield from Zelda being the first one that came to mind. With a shield in mind he looked for an emotion that would fuel his spell. Thinking that shields were used to defend you against someone or something Marik tried to think of something he had needed to defend himself against. For once Dudley Dursley came in handy. Marik imagined his old fat school bully's fist coming at him and readied himself to cast the spell.

" _Protego!"_ he shouted the spell incantation out into the room, making sure to maintain his concentration throughout the entire wand movement. Much to his surprise and delight on his first cast a medium-sized shield formed a few inches in front of him. The shield resembled almost an exact size, shape, and color to the Hylian shield he had been imagining. For seconds he tried to maintain the shield, concentrating on feeding his magic into the shield but after a few seconds his excitement at successfully casting the spell on his first try took over and broke his concentration.

"How did you do that?" a voice behind him asked, causing him to jump in fright and turn around instinctively with his wand raised. He lowered his wand as he found the source of the voice and couldn't help the large smile that sprouted on his face.

The voice belonged to the only witch his age that he actually knew, Hermione Granger. He had not seen Hermione since their first day at Hogwarts during the Sorting ceremony, much to his disappointment, and after the first week of not running into her he had assumed that she had no interest in finding him or being found by him.

Hermione had been sorted into Ravenclaw, and because of that the two of them did not share any classes together, which ruined all of their plans of sitting together in class and studying together that they had made on the Express ride. Marik had argued back and forth with the Sorting Hat to put him into Ravenclaw so that he could be close to Hermione and make sure he had a friend here at Hogwarts. The Hat was relentless with its counter-arguments though and argued that _Slytherin is the house for you and all you seek_ many times before sorting him into Slytherin _._

Since the sorting Marik had looked for Hermione whenever he went to the library, during meals at the Great Hall, and each time he looked for a practice room but the school was just too crowded and big and he never could find her. That had been the biggest negative of Hogwarts. Just like in his prior schooling career Marik was still friendless.

He had tried to be friends with Hermione, and honestly felt like she wanted to be his friend as much he wanted to be hers. However, the two week absence of her presence dampened what he felt Hermione probably thought of him.

Outside of Hermione, Marik had no one else he would even consider a friend at Hogwarts, well maybe the brown barn owl that brought him his paper every morning. He had looked for potential friends inside of the Slytherin house but after having the dumbest conversation of his life on the subjects of muffins versus cupcakes with a boy named Goyle and a slightly concerning conversation with a boy named Draco, Marik had quickly given up on the idea of finding a friend in Slytherin. In the end he had quickly given up his search for finding friends at Hogwarts altogether, deciding that he was always just meant to be a loner.

"You okay?" Hermione asked him, waving her hand in front of his face. Realizing that he had been staring while lost in thought he tried to bring himself out of his daze.

"Hey Hermione! You scared the hell out of me," he replied, lowering his wand and giving her a welcomed smile.

"Sorry, I just saw you in here and had to barge in. I haven't seen you in forever! I was starting to think you had left the school or something," Hermione said, a large smile sprouting on her face.

"It has been forever, and honestly I was thinking the same thing. I was worried you were trying to avoid me or something," he added, hoping she didn't reply saying she had in fact been avoiding him.

"I have been looking for you since the first day of classes. I even asked a Slytherin girl named Millicent to give you a letter to meet me in the library a few days ago. Apparently she thought I said Mark instead of Marik though and I had to spend a rather awkward half-hour with a second year boy," Hermione said, looking embarrassed upon thinking of the incident.

"That is kind of funny," he started, laughing a little at the story. "Well how have you been? It's good to see you!"

"It was very embarrassing! And it's good to see you too, Marik. I've been, okay I guess. I've been struggling a lot more than I expected too in some of my classes, but I'm hanging in there. How about you?" she asked him. He noticed a bit of emotion behind Hermione's words as she mentioned struggling in classes and he could tell she was annoyed and frustrated at that.

"I'm doing okay too. I was struggling with a lot of my classes too the first week of classes, but things have started to pick up this week."

"I can see that from that shield spell you just cast. How did you do that by the way? The spell's description says it's supposed to produce an invisible barrier in front of the caster, but yours was colored and shaped like a real shield. I've practiced that spell for two days and barely made more than a wisp of magic come out," Hermione asked him, again looking annoyed.

"I bet you got more than a wisp. And actually that was my first time casting the spell so I'm not too sure about the specifics," he started to explain.

"That was your first time? Ughh I am terrible at spellcasting!" Hermione groaned, looking visibly upset.

"Stop it Hermione, I guarantee you are not terrible at spellcasting. Cast the spell and let's see, maybe you are just overthinking it. That's what I was doing a lot of the first week of classes," he told her, hoping she would stop looking so upset.

"Fine, just watch," Hermione told him as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. " _Protego."_ Hermione said the incantation perfectly and made a flawless wand movement. Marik waved his hand around in air where her shield should have been but felt nothing as his hand moved through the air. "See? I'm no good," Hermione said, looking ready to cry.

"Stop saying that! What were you thinking of?"

"What do you mean? I was thinking of the spell, the incantation, and the wand movements. I was doing exactly what Professor Flitwick taught us to do in class."

"What emotions and images were you putting behind the spell though?" he asked her, thinking of the lessons Quirrell had given him.

"Huh? You lost me," Hermione asked him, and again she looked annoyed that she was not following the conversation.

"Let me try to explain to you the way Quirrell explained it to me. You know in muggle school we learned about the laws of the universe right?" he asked and received a nod from Hermione.

"Well the law of conservation of energy says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed right? The same applies with spellcasting. Casting spells requires the caster to take magical energy from their body to power their spells. How this power comes out depends on the imagination, emotions, incantations, and intentions of the person casting the spell.

"So for example when I casted my shield I had a few things in my mind. I had a visualization of the shield I wanted to cast in my head as well as the visualization of something I wanted to defend myself against. As I cast the spell I kept those visualizations in mind and mentally told my spell that I wanted to not get hit. And voilà, I was able to conjure a decent sized shield of what I imagined," Marik tried to explain, attempting to channel his best Quirrell, minus the stuttering the entire time.

"I don't remember Professor Quirrell saying that in any of our classes," Hermione replied.

"He didn't say it in a class, he told me that in our first private lesson when I was struggling to get the _expelliarmus_ spell down consistently," Marik answered her.

"Professor Quirrell is giving you _private_ lessons? I asked almost every one of the professors if they would give me private lessons and they all said they wouldn't give extra lessons to first years. I guess it was just _me_ they won't give extra lessons to though," Hermione said, looking sad as her eyes trailed down to her feet.

"Besides Quirrell they all told me the same thing. So trust me it isn't just you. And if you want I can ask Quirrell if you could join us in our lessons," Marik said, hoping that might cheer Hermione up.

"Would you? Oh my gosh Marik, you are amazing!" Hermione shouted and sprinted the small gap between them to give him a warm hug. After regaining his balance from the sudden impact Marik couldn't help the feeling of warmth that overcame him as she hugged him.

"Yeah, I will tomorrow in our next lesson. You just have to promise me you won't tell anyone that Quirrell is giving me or you private lessons though. Quirrell told me that he didn't want all the other students coming to him asking for extra lessons and I wasn't exactly supposed to tell you I was either," he told her, remembering a little too late that Quirrell had told him to keep their lessons a secret.

"I promise I won't tell anyone. And if it is going to get you in trouble then you don't have to ask him," Hermione replied.

"Of course I will ask him, don't worry. Now try the spell again. This time imagine a shield that maybe you saw in a movie or on television. And imagine at the same time that I am trying to punch you. Keep both those images in mind as you cast the spell."

"Okay, okay," Hermione said, and closed her eyes in concentration for a few seconds before she raised her wand again. " _Protego!"_ Hermione shouted out the spell incantation again and immediately this time the effect was much more instantaneous. A foot in front of Hermione a large silver shield, resembling that of a medieval knight's shield, appeared in front of Hermione.

"See, you are a good spellcaster," he said, giving her a warm smile. Hermione seemed to glow as she finished the spell. A large smile was immediately on her face and the sad girl that had been present moments earlier was now replaced with someone who looked like a kid in a candy store.

"I did it!" Hermione shouted out in excitement. "That looked exactly like I imagined it!" Hermione added.

"Good job then. Hey if you have some free time I have a whole list of spells that I have to learn by tomorrow. I was planning on practicing them in here all day. If you want you're welcome to join me? I'm sure practicing them together we can get through them all twice as fast," he asked her, hopeful that she would accept his offer to practice together. Learning magic was fun, but the idea of learning magic with someone else sounded much more fun.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"Of course I'm sure. I've spent every minute here over the past two weeks practicing alone. I would love to have you here practicing with me," he replied honestly, earning a sincere looking smile from Hermione.

"Well let's get started then!" Hermione responded, sounding even happier than she had sounded after casting her shield spell. "Let's see your shield spell again. See if you can make it bigger this time," Hermione said and he gladly accepted her challenge.

For the next nine hours the two of them got lost in the list of spells Quirrell had made for him. They took turns casting and commenting on each other's spells and made great progress on the list. Having Hermione there with him did in fact make learning spells so much easier, quicker, and fun. They managed to get through half of Quirrell's list and had almost every spell they had practiced down to where they could cast it consistently. They were both having so much fun and making such good progress that by the time either one of them looked at a watch it was already almost dinner time, and if it wasn't for a loud growl from his stomach the two of them probably could have kept going for another nine hours.

"Well I guess we should head down to the Great Hall, I didn't realize we missed lunch," Hermione said, looking down at her watch.

"Yeah, I guess we should," he said and started packing his notes and books away. "What are you doing tomorrow by the way? I was going to head to the library in the morning for a bit and was going to come back here to knock out the rest of the spells on that list before my lesson with Quirrell. I'd be happy if you joined me again," he asked her; hopeful that seeing her was not just a one-time thing.

"I would love to join you again! If you are sure I'm not intruding of course," Hermione said, sounding excited as the two of them left the practice room.

"You are more than welcome to intrude anytime you want Hermione. Today was the best day I have had at Hogwarts so far and I really like having you around," he told her, hoping he wasn't being too forward or weird.

"It was honestly the best day I've had since opening day too. I hope we can hang out more in the future," Hermione replied, another large welcoming smile on her face.

"We will for sure. No more two week gaps between seeing each other," he told her, returning the smile.

"No more two week gaps," Hermione added. "I might join you in the library in the morning too. I was planning on going there anyways tomorrow morning. Do you know any good books on rare herbology plants? I was going to try and do some extra research in herbology tomorrow and wanted to veer off from the books I've already finished," Hermione asked him as they made their way down to the second floor of the castle and waited for the staircases to change.

"Honestly herbology is the one subject I haven't read that far ahead in. I can help you look tomorrow though," he replied.

"That would be great! What were you planning on doing in the library tomorrow?" she asked him.

"Potions work. I messed up my last brew of _forgetfulness potion_ in class by misreading the ingredient list. I just want to review most of the potions we will be brewing this year and try to make sure it doesn't happen again. Snape hates when Slytherins embarrass him in class," he answered, shaking a little as he remembered being scorned by Snape.

"I can help you with that. Potions is surprisingly one of the classes I have actually been doing well in. I brewed a ninety-eight percent accurate _forgetfulness potion_ in class too," Hermione said, looking proud.

"Dang, a ninety-eight? The highest I have brewed so far is a ninety-one and that was just due to luck," he added, impressed at Hermione's brewing ability.

"I doubt it was luck. From all the conversations we have had so far it certainly seems that you know what you are doing. And thanks again, Marik, for helping me today. It meant a lot to me," Hermione said to him, sounding sincere as they arrived at the once again crowded and packed Great Hall.

"Well thank you. And don't mention it. Hey do you mind if I grab a seat with you at the Ravenclaw table? The Slytherin table is boring and I want to catch up with you some more," he asked her, again hoping he wasn't being too forward.

"Is that even allowed?" Hermione asked him, looking unsure at the answer.

"I have no clue," he said, laughing a little.

"Well I guess we can find out. I'm more than okay with you sitting with me as long as you don't get in trouble for it," Hermione answered, and he followed her through the Great Hall to an open section in the Ravenclaw table. A few students looked at him as they saw a Slytherin sitting at the Ravenclaw table but all in all no teacher came screaming at him for sitting at a different table.

"The Hall looks even more packed now than it did this morning," he said as they sat down.

"Yeah, it does. I wonder if there is an announcement or something. Have you heard anything?" Hermione asked him.

"I haven't heard anything, but I would say you are right. Look, Dumbledore is making his way over to the podium," he replied, pointing at the Headmaster who had just entered the Hall through a door behind the teacher's table. As the Headmaster made his way up to the podium the Ravenclaw table along with the rest of the Great Hall burst into quiet whispers, all of them trying to guess at what the Headmaster was about to announce.

"Silence please," Dumbledore said and paused until the chatter in the Hall died down. "I do not wish to keep you from your dinner, especially on your weekend so I will try and make this quick. I am pleased to announce that on the second week of October Hogwarts will be having a dueling tournament." Loud excited whispers immediately resonated throughout the Hall at the Headmaster's announcement. He and Hermione both locked eyes at the announcement too and were ready to join the rest of the Hall in excited whispers before the Headmaster continued.

"Each year level will have their own individual tournament which means that all years will be participating. Third years and above will have the option to decide if they would like to participate or not due to your much busier schedules. All first and second years are required to participate.

"I will provide more information to you all on the day of the tournament and feel free to ask your Heads' of Houses for more information in the meantime. There will be one winner from each year and I would like to stress how big of an opportunity this tournament is to show your professors and classmates your abilities. Now, dig in!" the Headmaster announced with a grin and the Hall erupted into chatter.

"A dueling tournament. . ." Marik whispered more to himself than to anyone in particular as he tried to imagine what a dueling tournament would be like.

"Big of an opportunity. . ." Hermione whispered beside him, seemingly continuing his train of thought.

"Headmaster, professors, and all the students will be watching. . ." Marik added again.

"And we only have a month to prepare. . ." Hermione continued his train of thought again.

"You want to go back to the practice room and practice some more?" Marik asked her, not able to hide the obvious trace of nervousness in his voice. Only slowly just now really realizing what Dumbledore had announced.

"Yes please!" Hermione quickly replied, sounding just as nervous.

In a rush the two grabbed their bags from the floor along with a handful of rolls from the table before bolting out of the Great Hall back towards the practice room they had just left minutes earlier. Although they didn't have a lot of information to go on they had exactly a month to prepare for a dueling tournament - a tournament that gave them the chance to show the professors, Headmaster, and students their magical abilities. Marik could not waste the chance to show that he was the best first year at Hogwarts, which meant preparing for the tournament would be difficult. Thankfully though, it seemed that he would not have to go through it alone.

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	5. Book1: Chapter 5

**Harry**

Over the last few weeks of September and for practically the entire first two weeks of October, all of the conversation in the school had been on the dueling tournament that would at last be taking place today. Ever since Dumbledore had announced the tournament back in the second week of classes Harry had made it his personal mission to make sure that he would be more prepared than every other first year by the time the tournament came around. And he had to say that so far he thought his mission had been going quite well, although it had started off to a slow start.

During the first few days of classes Harry went into his classes expecting that no one there would have read as much or studied as much as he had over the summer. He was quickly proven wrong. Not only had a few of the students read just as much as him it seemed, a few of them had also read ahead a lot more than he had.

Daphne, who had been sorted into Slytherin, while she did not go out of her way to try and make him look bad during the first few weeks of class, had honestly made him sound and look like a muggle with her performance in their classes. Harry knew from basically seeing her almost at least once every month growing up that Daphne was smart and would give him a run for his money in the classroom. However, he did not expect her to be so far ahead of him right from the start. He guessed that maybe she hadn't been sharing _everything_ that she had been reading in the Black family library. Luckily for him though, after about the third week of classes Daphne shifted her focus off from making him look bad and had started a house rivalry with another Slytherin named Marik Ose. The two of them seemed to be in a fierce competition to be known as the top student in the Slytherin house.

Marik Ose had been the boy in the boat with Harry at the start of the term. Although Harry had never actually said anything to Marik, he had pinned Marik, along with Daphne, as his personal competition and rivals after the first few weeks of classes. Marik and Daphne were in almost all of his classes outside of astronomy and herbology, and in every class the two Slytherins seemed to excel in. Marik had even managed to get house points from McGonagall and Snape in the same day, a feat that from what was being said around Hogwarts did not happen often.

Harry had come into this year at Hogwarts embarrassingly with a bit of an ego. He had assumed he would be the best, it would be easy, and he would not have to work much harder than he had in the years before coming to Hogwarts. All it took was the first two weeks of Daphne making him look like a fool, and Marik out-working, out-studying, and out-performing him in their classes before Harry was humbled. Since then Harry had made it his vendetta to kick his studying and research into a higher level and make sure that by the end of the term he was the best in his year.

Since then his class performance and overall feelings had begun to improve greatly. Not only had he been able to answer a few questions quicker and better than Daphne, he had also managed in transfiguration class to turn his mouse into a needle quicker than even Marik had been able too, although only by about five seconds. Outside of the classroom however, things had not been going as smoothly as Harry had hoped.

To be honest, outside of Neville, Harry did not really have anyone that he had become friends with yet at Hogwarts. Even Neville really wasn't his friend. The two of them had only exchanged a few short conversations since the Express ride to Hogwarts. For the most part Harry was okay with it though. After all not having to take time to talk to friends meant he had more time to study and do research.

Outside of Neville Harry's social life at Hogwarts had been about as poor as he had expected it to be. Most of the other Gryffindors were more interested in Quidditch, chess, and pulling pranks. All of which he had zero interest in.

The worst part about his house though, was that everyone in it wanted to be friends with the famous Harry Potter and not the real Harry. A fellow Gryffindor boy named Ron one day had asked if he could sit with Harry in the common room and study together, but after just a few minutes of Ron asking questions that made absolutely no sense, copying all of Harry's notes, and repeatedly asking about the night he had been attacked Harry had got up and left.

Apparently Ron found this upsetting and had attempted to cast a spell at Harry as he left the table. Unfortunately for Ron Professor McGonagall had chosen that exact moment to check in on her house and had deducted twenty points from Gryffindor, given Ron a week of detentions, and made him write seventeen inches on proper wand movements for stunning spells before Ron could even get a word in. Since then Ron and a lot of the other Gryffindor's had excluded Harry from their groups and conversations, because apparently it was his fault for them losing points. Even with the house turmoil, drama, and rocky start to the school year though all in all Harry was still enjoying his time at Hogwarts and was doing his best to not let any of it get in his way of becoming the top first year.

Looking up at the clock on the wall above his table in the library Harry figured it was just about time to make his way down to the Great Hall for the dueling tournament. Overall he was feeling quite confident going into the tournament today. Since it had been announced he had pretty much lived inside of his charms and transfiguration books. After his classes finished each day he would spend the first few hours in the library researching new spells and would then spend the later hours in the afternoon in a practice room. Luckily classes had been cancelled today because of the tournament so he had taken advantage of the free morning to get some last minute research in.

He had spent the past few days adding to the research he had done on transfiguring spells. He figured since all of the first years had shield spells in their dark arts book that most would look to defend with a shield. He learned the shield spell first as a backup plan but he had been mainly working on using transfiguring spells as both his main offensive and defensive approach for the tourney. Since transfiguring spells was not taught until the end of second year he figured he would be able to catch everyone by surprise with it.

Unfortunately Professor McGonagall had not been lying to them during their first day of class when she said that transfiguration was one of the hardest subjects to master. So far he could consistently turn spells into smoke, but turning a spell into another spell of his choice had proven to be harder than he had hoped. The only spell that he had managed to be able to send back from a transfigured spell had been the _expelliarmus_ spell. A spell he figured that almost every first year knew how to defend against. Still, even though the _expelliarmus_ spell was an easier one he was hoping the act of transfiguring a spell in a duel would be enough to throw his opponents off guard.

Getting up from his desk in the library he put the books back onto the shelves and made his way out of the library and towards the Great Hall. The halls of the castle were filled to the brim with students all caught up in excited chatter. Progress to the Great Hall was slow as it seemed every person inside the castle was making their way to the Hall at that moment.

The Great Hall itself had been completely transformed from the normal four tabled dining Hall. Instead, all of the tables were removed and had been replaced by a single platform that stretched down the middle of the Hall. The platform was about as wide as two of the house tables put together, and about the same size in length. The teacher's table was still in the same spot to afford the professors the best view, and all of the students were sitting on bleachers that had been summoned along the sides of the Hall.

Harry had expected that he would be nervous coming into the tournament, especially since every student of Hogwarts would be watching him duel. However that nervousness from the students watching was nothing compared to the nervousness he felt when he found out that his performance in the tournament would play a role in the ability portion of his grade in his classes. As soon as he had heard that he couldn't have cared less about all of the students watching.

After waiting for the large group of Ravenclaws ahead of him to make their way into the Hall, Harry looked for a seat in the front row so he could get a good view of the dueling platform and be able to take notes on the competition. After receiving a glare from a group of first year Gryffindors with none other than Ron at their center he decided the other side of the Hall might be a little better. After avoiding the usual stares that all of the students gave him, he found a seat next to a group of second year Hufflepuffs in the first row that were too busy talking amongst each other to give him any notice.

The students continued to file into the Great Hall and with them the loud chatter and gossip of people betting who would win for each year grew louder. Ron's brothers Fred and George, who were third year Gryffindors, had been walking around taking people's bets on each year's victor. Harry was surprised that the teachers were not yelling at them or stopping them but instead were just smiling and Dumbledore was even giggling at the two boys as they made their way around the stands. Apparently not many of the upper years cared about the lower years by the bets that he heard, most were looking forward to the sixth and seventh year duels. He couldn't really blame them; honestly he was just as excited to get to witness upper level magic as he was excited to win the tournament.

Fred and George seemed to have taken all of the bets being offered as the last few students made their way into the Hall. Apparently a seventh year named Regulus Montpellier was the favorite to win the seventh year tournament by the number of times Harry had heard people place their bets on him. As the last students got their seats in the nosebleed section of the stands the chatter in the Great Hall ceased and Dumbledore made his way to the podium.

"Welcome all to this year's dueling tournament being held in honor of our very own Professor Flitwick being named the Dueling Master of Europe for the eleventh straight year. Let us first before we begin give him a well-earned round of applause." The stands erupted with a large round of applause especially from all of the Ravenclaw students. The small professor rose from his chair behind the table and gave a bow to everyone in the Great Hall.

From what his parents had told him Harry knew that Professor Flitwick had not only won the Dueling Master's Championship more than a few times, but that each year he had completely dominated it. His father had told him that there were only a few people in the world who could have a chance to beat him and they were all either dead, in prison, or Dumbledore. Harry wondered why Dumbledore never participated in the tourney.

"Before we begin I would like to go over the rules for the tournament. First you were all given the prohibited types of magic and spell lists for your year by your Head of Houses, if any prohibited spells are used today not only will you forfeit your spot in the tournament, but you may very well find yourself on the Express back home. The tournament will be divided by year level and in each level the tournament will follow a bracket style of randomly chosen matches until only a single student remains.

"Rounds will have a time limit of five minutes each and any duels lasting longer than that will be ruled as a draw with no winner. As you were told before by your professors your performance, abilities shown, and spell usage in today's tournament will play a factor in your overall ability grade by your professors at the end of the term," Dumbledore said to the crowd of students. Although all of the students had known this for some time any mention of the end of year grades sent a panic through the mass of students, Harry included.

"As well as this. . ." Dumbledore continued, waiting for the chatter to die down again. "The winner of each year will represent Hogwarts in the newly created EMSDC, or European Magic Students Dueling Championship." At the mention of this Harry along with the rest of the students full attention was on Dumbledore and this newly mentioned dueling championship. "The EMSDC has been a collaboration of the ministers of magic from England, Germany, and France as a way to bring a healthy competition between the schools, along with a way to push all students of magic to become the best that they can. If you win in today's tournament you will represent your year and your school as you go up against the winners of both Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy in the upcoming summer. The winner of that tournament not only receives recognition as the Student Dueling Champion of Europe for their year, but also will receive prize money."

If anyone in the Great Hall had not been drooling before they certainly were now. Harry couldn't believe it! If he had been anxious or nervous before it was nothing compared to how he felt now. If he won today not only would he help his grades out, be known by all of the of the students of Hogwarts as the best dueler in his year, but he would also have the chance of being recognized by all of Europe as the best dueler in his year. He had to win. Harry's mind at the prospect of thinking how big winning the tournament truly was now immediately went to what the Sorting Hat had said to him the night of the Sorting ceremony.

 _You do not like that you were given fame and glory, yet you still seek fame and glory. You are already a legend but you wish to make your legend on your own I can see._

The Hat, he realized now, had pretty much hit the nail on the head. He hated that people knew him, recognized him, and considered him famous for something that he really didn't even do. They all say he defeated the dark lord but really he was just a baby who probably didn't do anything but cry. At home his _fame_ was never an issue because his parents treated him normal and like any other kid, but at Hogwarts people like Ron treated him as if he were a spoiled brat that was only any good because the teachers favored him because he was 'famous'. Neville had even told him one time that he had heard a group of Slytherin students say that Harry didn't have to turn in assignments to McGonagall because he was 'the boy who lived'.

While this was all obviously untrue, it infuriated him more than anything else. Harry had grown up reading stories of people becoming great heroes like in _The Tales of Merlin_ and even some of his mother's favorite muggle books like the _Lord of the Rings_. He had grown up before his parents had told him the story of that night wanting to become a great and powerful wizard like Merlin had. He wanted to go on an adventure to become a hero of legend like Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam had. Harry simply wanted to be the best and create a legend of his own, not be the boy who lived.

The reason he studied so much, read books constantly, and practiced so hard was with all this in mind. He wanted to begin in the creation of his own legend. This tournament was the perfect place to start to show people that he was in fact not just the boy who lived, but instead an intelligent, hard-working, powerful wizard. To do that though, he would have to out duel all of the other first years. Dumbledore started to continue waking him and the other students from their dazes and daydreams.

"Now it is time to let the tournament begin!" Dumbledore said and the crowd of students erupted into applause. "We will begin with the first years." Dumbledore flicked his wand and immediately above him colorful lines of magic formed a tournament bracket much like the ones shown in the daily prophet during the Quidditch World Cup tournaments. The inside lines of the bracket were blank but the top two lines on the outside slowly begin to have names written onto them. Harry sighed in relief as he saw that his name was not one of the ones listed first.

"Neville Longbottom and Cho Chang please make your way onto the dueling platform!" Dumbledore announced and the two students made their way onto the dueling platform. Neville looked paler than nearly-headless Nick. His hands were shaking so much Harry thought for sure Neville was going to drop his wand. In the few short conversations and class demonstrations that Harry had with Neville if he had been a betting man, like the rest of the students here, he would not be putting his money on Neville in this one.

He had never seen the Cho Chang girl before but just based off of appearances she looked a lot more confident than Neville did. The two opponents, now on the stage, made their way towards the center, bowed, and made their way back to their opposite sides. Neville earned some snickers from the crowd when he tripped ungracefully over his own foot on his way back to his side of the dueling platform.

"I will count to three and on three your duel will begin," Dumbledore announced to the two students. "One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore shouted.

" _Windumgusto!"_ Cho shouted before Neville even opened his mouth. Immediately a large gust of wind shot from Cho's wand and hit Neville square in the chest sending him flying backwards off the stage hard onto the ground of the Hall.

 _Well that was quick._ He thought to himself as the crowd erupted into cheers for Cho, especially from the Hufflepuff section. The spell she had used was a spell that although was not taught in the first year Harry remembered seeing it in one of his common spell books. It was a smart tactic to use and he would have to remember that one. Most of the strategies he had been thinking of had been based on disarming or incapacitating his opponent, it had not crossed his mind to simply force them off the stage.

As Cho made her way back to her section in the stands and a group of Gryffindors helped Neville up and back to his seat the next two names formed themselves on the bracket. The next two opponents would be Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Harry had no idea who the Draco boy was but he did recognize the Hermione girl from the boat ride and Sorting ceremony their first day. Just like the first duel he didn't have much info on how good either one of these two were. Even though Draco was a Slytherin and he had classes with the Slytherins, outside of Daphne and Marik he did not really pay much attention to anyone else.

The crowd got quiet again as the two new opponents walked on the dueling platform and made their way towards the middle. Draco said something to the Hermione girl when they were in the middle that drew some murmurs from the people sitting near the middle of the platform; however the Hermione girl kept a focused look on her face as she bowed and made her way back to her side. As the two faced each other he could already tell that this duel looked like it might be better than the last one. The Hermione girl on her side looked focused and confident, and Draco on his side looked quite smug and had a creepy grin on his face. The two raised their wands ready for the duel to begin.

"One… Two… Three!" Dumbledore shouted again and the duel got started.

" _Rictusempra!"_ Draco shouted the tickling charm. The spell that would result in the person it hit being sent flying and then feeling like they were being tickled when they landed. The Hermione girl took a strange tactic when the duel started. Instead of trying to cast an offensive spell she simply went to a crouched position and right when Draco cast the spell and summoned a shield.

" _Protego!"_ Hermione used the shield spell and a bright silver shield of light formed in front of her. She seemed to take aim with it and when the spell hit the shield it deflected right back at Draco. Harry watched as the spell missed Draco and went right over his head. Draco got a smug look on his head and turned his head around to watch the spell go past his head, which was a mistake on his part. As soon as his head turned he was immediately met by a disarming spell to the face.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Hermione shouted the spell before Draco could even realize what was happening. His wand made its way to Hermione's hands as Draco's body went flying backwards from the impact of the spell.

"Hermione Granger is the Winner!" Dumbledore shouted from the podium and the Hall erupted into applause led by the Ravenclaw section.

This was exactly why he had wanted to sit in the front row and get a good seat to watch the tournament. Already he had seen two good strategies used. Hermione had played Draco for a fool. She had aimed that spell high on purpose to distract him. By starting with a defensive spell Harry couldn't blame Draco for thinking he had the offensive advantage. It was a smart and sly strategy. So far both Cho and Hermione looked to be tough opponents, especially since both had won using less than three spells each. As amazing as the two duels had been Harry hoped the next duel would last a bit longer than five seconds though so he could see some more of what he might be up against.

Draco seemed to be throwing a tantrum as he got up from the floor and left the Great Hall dramatically after his defeat with a loud flurry of excuses. Harry watched the Hermione girl make her way back to where she had been sitting. He noticed that she sat down and hugged the boy he had pinned as his rival, Marik Ose. The two of them exchanged conversations it looked like over the duel that Hermione had just won, and apparently Marik had found something about it funny. As Harry watched the two of them the next two names began writing themselves.

"Ronald Weasley will go up against Marik Ose!" Dumbledore announced the next two opponents. Harry couldn't help but smile at the names announced. Harry shared almost all of his classes with the two people just announced. While he called Marik his rival he didn't actually dislike or hate him, he just saw him as one of his biggest competitions in his year. Ron on the other hand, Harry did not like.

From what he had seen in their charms and dark arts classes Ron had about the same magical prowess as a teacup and Marik. . . well Marik was pretty good. The two of them like the others before them made their way to the center of the stage as the others had done before them.

Much like Draco, Ron was walking with an attempted swagger and a large smug grin on his face. Marik on the other hand looked calm and like this was just another normal day in class.

Harry heard Ron's brothers from across the Hall placing a bet against Ron, which again caused Harry to smile. Ron and Marik bowed and made their way back to their sides. Harry leaned over to make sure he got a good view of this one.

"One… Two… Three!" Dumbledore shouted!

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Marik shouted as soon as the duel started. Ron tried to get a spell out, but before he could say anything the spell had hit him sending him flying across the Hall and his wand flying into Marik's hand. Marik was already heading back to his seat before Ron even landed on the ground. The Slytherins in the Hall started the applause following the victory and all the other houses outside of Gryffindor followed shortly. Harry couldn't help but applaud Marik for giving Ron what he deserved.

Another quick and interesting duel. Although the disarming spell was a good display of how quick, accurate, and good Marik was, unfortunately just like the other duels it was not long enough to really give him any ideas of what everyone else was capable of.

Harry watched Marik this time sit down next to the Granger girl and receive a hug as a reward for his victory, for some reason he couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy at the sight. However, that feeling went away quickly as Dumbledore announced the next two opponents.

"Harry Potter will go up against Padma Patil!" The stands got quiet as his name was announced, just as it had when McGonagall announced his name during the Sorting ceremony. All eyes were on him. It was his time to shine. With one last internal sigh he shook of the nervous feelings lingering in his head, stood up, and made his way to the dueling platform.

He had never seen the girl that he would be facing before. From the blue and bronze on her dueling robes he could assume she was in Ravenclaw though. As he made his way up the steps on his side of the stage his mind began racing with what strategy he wanted to use. Most of the people that had won before him seemed to be holding back somewhat. He highly doubted that each of the spells they had used had been the toughest they knew. When he won the first round he did not want to go into the second round not knowing any of his opponents' tricks and them knowing all of his. He probably shouldn't use any of the transfiguration spells he had been working on yet, that would be his secret weapon for later.

He approached the girl at the center of the stage and gave her the ceremonial bow before turning back and heading to his side. His father had told him one time when he was young and they were talking about the different houses of Hogwarts, that the only person he met that read more than a Ravenclaw was his mother. Ravenclaw students were well known for being bookworms; which honestly made it a surprise when the Hat announced he would be a Gryffindor. So because she was a Ravenclaw she most likely had read a lot of the spell books that first years had, so he could not underestimate her. He did not want to overestimate her either and use all his good spells. He would just go with the flow. He gripped his wand tight as he readied himself and Dumbledore began.

"One… Two… Three!" Dumbledore shouted!

" _Tarantallegra!"_ Harry cast the dancing charm at Padma hoping the impact would knock her off the stage, and if not at least incapacitate her long enough to get her wand from her. However just as he finished launching his spell Padma had just finished sending one of her own his way.

" _Petrificus totalus!"_ Padma shouted at him and sent the body binding spell his way.

" _Protego!"_ He cast the shield spell without even thinking and the spell rebounded and headed back at Padma. His first spell had apparently missed or been banished by the girl as she was quickly throwing up another shield spell to banish her reflected spell that was heading back at her. Quickly thinking Harry came up with his next approach.

" _Accio_ Padma's shoes!" He sent the summoning spell at Padma who after banishing her reflecting spell look confused for a moment at what Harry was trying to do. This was his chance. Catching her off guard for a second while Padma was just about to use the counter spell to his _accio_ he moved in for the final strike.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Although she kept her shoes on, the second of distraction resulted in his spell striking Padma directly in the chest and sent her flying across the stage. Harry grabbed her wand out of the air and allowed himself a brief smile as he won the duel. After a few seconds the crowd erupted in cheers. After giving her wand back to Padma, Harry made his way back to his seat.

Padma had ended up being tougher than he had expected but he had won! Although he knew the tournament was far from over he couldn't help but feel happy after his first win. It felt good to show everyone there that he was good at magic. As the next two names formed Harry replayed the duel in his head over the next few minutes going over the mistakes he made and what he had to make sure did not happen in the next duel.

As the rest of the first round continued for the most part no one else really stood out as that impressive outside of Daphne, who Harry thought unfortunately for him had the most dominate first round out of anyone. She managed to hit a boy named Crabbe with a _confundus_ charm that had Crabbe so confused he cast an _expelliarmus_ spell on himself. The _confundus_ was a spell that wasn't even in their first year spell books.

The last duel of the first round for the first years was a close one between Blaise Zabini and Katie Bell. Katie just barely managed to win with an _expelliarmus_ that barely hit Blaise in the leg. After the last duel of the first round Dumbledore asked for a round of applause for the winners of the first round. As the applause began to die down the first names for the second round appeared on the bracket.

"Daphne Black will be up against Marik Ose!" Dumbledore announced. Immediately Harry could hear chatter throughout the Hall from the first years. Harry could not hide showing a little bit of excitement and anxious feelings at this matchup as well. All of the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins who had classes together knew that Marik and Daphne did not like each other very much.

Harry was not necessarily sure if something had happened or if it was just simply them both trying to prove they were the top Slytherin in their year. Whatever it was in almost every class whenever Daphne did a spell Marik had to do two spells, or whenever Marik answered a question Daphne had a better answer lined up. Looking around the Hall he could see all of the Slytherin students whispering as the two opponents made their way up onto the stage.

Daphne had her usual cold stone mask on while Marik again looked calm and collected. Harry was sure this was the best matchup so far today and was excited to see who brought out the big guns first. Harry guessed since Sirius was technically family and therefore Daphne was technically his cousin that he would root for her but honestly he did not care who won, he just wanted to see some good magic. At the center of the stage Marik bowed to Daphne who sort of bent over a little before making her way back to her side of the dueling stage. Dumbledore again got ready to start the duel.

"One… Two… Three!" Dumbledore announced

" _Petrificus tota. ._!" Daphne shouted.

" _Incarcerous!"_ Marik yelled. Daphne's spell never made it close to Marik as the spell that Harry had never heard of sent a flurry of ropes from Marik's wand towards Daphne. The ropes tied her up and bound her to the ground before she was able to even finish her spell. Harry and apparently the rest of the students were in awe. Not only had Marik cast some sort of spell that Harry had never seen or heard of, he had made it look easy. Daphne had dominated in her first round and here she was not even able to get a single spell off. The crowd around him starting with Hermione and followed by the Slytherins began to cheer the victor.

Harry couldn't believe how good Marik was. Unfortunately it all happened so fast that Harry only heard part of what the spell sounded like and missed most of it. He knew that whatever the spell was, to be able to conjure ropes from out of seemingly nowhere and have the ability to control them all in one spell was something definitely not in their first year books. Making a mental note to research the spell later that night Harry's amazement at the last duel did not last long as the next names began to form.

"Hermione Granger will go up against Katie Bell!" Dumbledore announced to the students. This was going to be another good one. While Katie mainly used basic spells throughout her duel that the rest of the students had, she had shown to be really good at dodging spells during her duel with Blaise. Without even using a shield once she had managed to make three of his spells miss. The Hermione girl during her first duel had not used that many spells and the ones she did use were just as simple as any of the others. However, her use of a _protego_ as a form of offensive strategy instead of a defensive strategy did make Harry think that Hermione was playing things smart. Both of the opponents bowed and were now ready to go.

"One… Two… Three!" Dumbledore announced.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Katie Bell shouted as she began moving on the stage. She was one of the few people so far that actually used movement to her advantage. Most first years so far could not concentrate on a spell whilst moving.

" _Confundus, protego, stupefy!"_ Hermione sent off a chain of spells without ever stopping her wand movements. Each spells end wand movement had been the starting spot for the next, and she had been able to send three spells out in the time most people get one spell out. Not only that, but she had cast a _stupefy_ spell. Harry knew from his Dad's short term as an auror was a spell used by aurors a lot to knockout their opponents. This was another spell that he knew was not in any first year books.

The first spell went wide right hitting where Katie had started the duel. The _Protego_ was summoned right in time to deflect Katie's _expelliarmus_ which headed right back at Katie. This time Katie instead of moving was forced to summon a shield which fortunately for her was right in time to banish her initial _expelliarmus_ but unfortunately for her disappeared right as Hermione's _stupefy_ hit her in the chest.

The collision immediately knocked Katie out and like a ragdoll and she collapsed to the floor with a thud.

 _Holy hippogriff_ was all Harry could think. That was two duels in a row where spells that he did not know how to cast had been used. Marik's had used one he had never even heard of and Hermione had just used a perfect spell chain that was almost impossible to avoid along with a spell that he imagined probably wasn't learned by first or second year students. He was definitely going to have to step up his game if he wanted to win this. Applause again erupted for the winner and as it died down again Harry saw his name being written on the next empty slot in the bracket. He readied himself.

"Harry Potter will go up against Cho Chang," Dumbledore announced.

Again as it had in the first round the crowd went silent for a moment before the Hufflepuff section erupted with cheers of _Cho_. As he made his way up to the stage for his second duel of the tournament he thought back to Cho's first duel. Cho had used the _windumgusto_ spell against Neville to force him off the platform. He would have to keep an eye on that spell along with any others that may attempt to do the same.

He made his way to the center of the platform and bowed. As Cho bowed he suddenly had a random thought of a story that Remus told him of Sirius asking a girl on a date to some Yule Ball thing who said no and later cried when they were kissing on a date a few months later. After shaking the random thought from his head he made his way back thinking of what strategy he should go with. He did not know if he should go ahead and use his transfiguration spells during this duel. It was only the second round, but Cho had shown that she was more than capable.

He decided as he raised his wand that he would start with other spells again this time but if he had to he would go with his transfiguration spells.

"One… Two… Three!" Dumbledore shouted, announcing the start of the duel.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Cho yelled the levitation spell at Harry. Harry had decided to take a note from Hermione's duel. He would have to give her credit later.

" _Aguamenti, protego!"_ Harry chained the two spells together. Just like Hermione had done the first spell's wand movement ended right where his _protego_ spell needed to start. The first spell, like Hermione's spell had also done in her first duel, was meant to be just a distraction.

A jet of water shot forth from his wand at Cho who raised a shield up, which did protect her from getting wet, but also resulted in doing exactly what Harry had hoped it would. As the loud jet of water shot from his wand not only was Cho not able to hear him put up his shield, but the water hitting Cho's shield also made her blind to her own _expelliarmus_ spell that Harry had reflected right back at her. Just as his water jet stopped and Cho's shield went down she was hit with her own disarming spell and her wand was sent flying towards Harry ending the duel.

Besides the few students on Cho's end of the platform that had gotten wet as a result of her deflecting his water jet, Harry laughed when he saw Ron was one of them; the rest of the students began to applaud. After returning Cho's wand Harry made his way back to his seat again feeling accomplished and happy at winning.

"Thank you for the great idea," he said with an unexpected confidence to the Hermione girl as he made his way past her back to his seat.

"You're welcome!" he heard her shout as he walked away from her and sat back down. He felt pretty good about that duel. He had only used spells that first years learned but had used them in a way that was smart enough to work, without revealing all of his tricks. Plus with that duel out of the way he was just two duels away from winning the tournament.

"Parvati Patil will face up against Pansy Parkinson!" Dumbledore announced. This duel did not interest Harry too much based on their respective performances in the first round, although he did make sure to pay attention and take notes in case he had to face one of them next round. The duel in the end was a pretty boring duel. Pansy and Parvati both just cast a simple offensive spell and then summoned a shield to deflect the others spell.

The match went on for about three minutes before finally Parvati got bold and used a _petrificus totalus_ spell instead of summoning a shield. Luckily for her it hit Pansy right before Pansy's _expelliarmus_ hit her. So that was it for the second round. In the semifinals it would be him, Marik, Hermione, and Parvati. Without any break Dumbledore began announcing the next duel.

"The first duel of the semi-finals will be between Marik Ose and… Parvati Patil!" Dumbledore announced and Harry felt a quick wave of disappointment come over him. He had been hoping to go against Marik this round. Although Marik had proven to be far better than even Harry had expected, Harry wanted to go against his rival already and show everyone he was the best. That meant though he would be going up against Hermione who had more than proved herself in the first two rounds to be a very strong opponent. Harry would not be able to use her own strategies against her this time to win. Marik and Parvati bowed and readied themselves as Dumbledore announced the start of the first duel of the semifinals.

"One. . . Two… Three!" Dumbledore announced.

" _Expellia…"_ Parvati started.

" _Confundus!"_ Marik had cast the spell so quick halfway through Parvati's opening spell just like he had done with Daphne. Parvati dropped her wand and began walking around the platform staring at the ceiling looking very confused. Marik just slowly walked over to the where her wand lay on the ground picked it up and just like that the duel was over. As the crowd erupted with applause Harry couldn't help but think that's about as good as he imagined the duel going for Parvati the way Marik had been performing so far. As Marik and Parvati made their way back to their seats Harry got mentally prepared for his duel Hermione.

"The last duel before the finals will be between Hermione Granger and Harry Potter!" This time as Dumbledore announced the pair of duelists there was no pause at the sound of Harry's name, only excited cheers from the crowd ready for another duel. Harry made his way around to his side of the platform ready to finally let loose and not hold anything back. He could not hold back against Hermione if he wanted to win.

"You better not try and copy me in this one!" Hermione said with a wink and a smile on her face as the two of them made their way to the middle of the dueling platform.

"I saw you taking notes during my last duel too you know, you better not copy me either!" he answered with a confident flirt that he was not sure where the bloody hell it came from. Too much time with Sirius he guessed.

After the bow no further conversation was had as both of them put on their serious faces and made their way to their respective sides. Harry was feeling a lot more confident going into this duel than he had been going into the first two. He knew exactly what spells he wanted to use and figured the semifinals was the time to start bringing them out.

"One…" Dumbledore began and Harry gripped his wand tight. "Two…" Dumbledore continued and he let out one last sigh of anxiousness "Three!" Dumbledore announced.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Hermione immediately cast the disarming spell towards him.

" _Protego!"_ Harry quickly summoned the shield letting the Granger girl take the offensive. Not wanting to copy her strategy again or be predictable he reflected the spell right back at her.

" _Stupefy!"_ Hermione sent the high-powered spell she had won the previous duel with right at him. While Harry did not know how to cast the spell or even that much about it he assumed it was too powerful to deflect with his level of a _protego_ shield spell. It was time to bring out his big guns.

" _Transmorgo!"_ He shouted the transfiguration spell at the oncoming _stupefy_ spell. Imagining smoke in his head as his spell collided with Hermione's the two spells burst into a cloud of black smoke. Without hesitating knowing from his practice that he was only good enough at the spell to keep the smoke around for a few seconds he began moving forward.

" _Confundus!"_ He heard Hermione yell from the other side of the smoke. Without a clear sight of him though the spell went far to the left of him, missing him by a mile. Ready to strike he broke into a run and began his next assault.

" _Aguamenti!"_ He shouted the water spell out as he ran towards Hermione.

" _Incendio!_ " Hermione shouted. Well he had not expected that. What normally was just a simple fire starter spell Hermione had managed to make more into a flamethrower spell. His jet of water was immediately turned to nothing but steam. Time to think on his feet. " _Expelliarmus!"_ Hermione, after finishing with the water, quickly sent another spell his way.

" _Protego!"_ The shield quickly appeared in front of him as he cast the spell. Thinking quickly the next spell popped into his head instinctively. Instead of reflecting the spell he decided to use it to his advantage. As soon as he banished the spell he rolled to his left. " _Levicorpus!"_ Harry cast the spell that he remembered Sirius telling him about. He didn't wait to see if the spell hit her though. Without hesitation Harry rolled back to his right. " _Tarantallegra!"_ He cast the spell and could not have hoped for better results.

Hermione had been able to easily deflect his _levicorpus_ spell as he had expected her to. Hermione, luckily for him, had decided to be smart and send his own spell right back at him. Fortunately for him he had rolled to the right and her spell had been directed to where Harry had previously been standing. This mistake on Hermione's part gave him just enough time as well as an open shot for his _tarantallegra_ spell to hit. Hermione was forced through the air about four feet back where her body instantly began uncontrollably dancing.

Harry felt guilty for the few seconds of uncontrollable dancing that Hermione was forced into due to his spell before she was released from it, especially after the glare she gave him as she made her way back to her seat. Harry could not help but let a smile creep on his face though at the realization that he was going to the finals. For a moment he even allowed himself to soak in the loud cheers that had emerged from the Gryffindor section. Even Ron's brothers Fred and George had come up to him and in between their laughter at a dancing Hermione and told him well done. He knew he would only be allowed to feel accomplished for a few short seconds though. It was the finals time.

Down the stands he saw his finals opponent Marik talking to Hermione who looked visibly upset that she had lost. He felt bad for her; she looked so sad and upset. He wanted to go say sorry, although he did not know really what to apologize for. However, before he could do that his attention was brought back to dueling as Dumbledore hushed the crowd.

"Will our two first year finalists please make their way to the dueling stage," Dumbledore announced. Harry left the Gryffindor crowd that had made their way up to him following his victory and made his way back to the stage. Harry's full focus was now back on dueling. He had made it this far, now it was time to win. Marik had proved that he was a worthy opponent and an excellent wizard beyond what Harry had expected. From what Marik had shown in his previous duels Harry would have to be prepared for an onslaught of spells that he might have never even heard of.

Unfortunately for Harry, his duel with Hermione had resulted in him using all of his known transfiguration spells that he had hoped would win him the tournament. He would have to be extra disciplined, and even craftier to win this duel. Making his way up his side of the dueling stage's stairs he noticed as Marik made his way up the side opposite that he still had the same casual grin on his face and appeared as if this upcoming finals duel would be just as easy as his others had been. Harry took that look as a challenge he would gladly accept. The two boys made their way to the center of the stage.

"Good luck Harry. You have put up quite a fun show to watch today," Marik said with a smile towards him.

"You too," Harry responded. Even with one of the biggest moments of his life about to take place if he had been taught one thing in life so far it was to respect magic. And Marik certainly had shown that he had quite a lot of magic. Marik nodded as the both of them bowed and made their ways back to their sides. Harry was confident. Even with what Marik had shown he had faith enough in his quick thinking to feel that he could win this duel.

"Before we begin the duel I want to congratulate the both of you on making it this far. You both have put on incredible performances of magic and should be proud. However, there can only be one winner. Are our two duelists ready?" Dumbledore asked with a sparkle in his eyes. Harry saw Mark nod from across the stage. Harry nodded too. "Well then it is time for the first year's final!" Dumbledore announced and the crowd erupted. Harry was surprised to hear the majority of the Gryffindor students chanting _Potter_. As he looked around even a few Hufflepuffs seemed to be joining in as well. Those who remained along with the Slytherin and Ravenclaw house were all chanting for _Ose_. Harry tightened his grip and began to focus; he did his best to put the crowd out of his head.

"Just as before, on three the duel will begin," Harry could feel his heart pounding.

"One. . ." Dumbledore announced.

"Two. . ." Dumbledore shouted.

"THREE!" Dumbledore yelled.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Harry shouted

" _Confundus!"_ Marik shouted at the same time. The two spells collided in the center of the stage sending off a surge of magic. Harry had no time to waste though.

" _Tarantallegra!"_ Harry sent the spell he had beat Hermione with towards Marik.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Marik had cast the spell just as Harry cast his.

" _Transmorgo!"_ Harry took the opportunity to counter Marik's spell. His spell hit Marik's _expelliarmus_ spell around the halfway mark of the platform and erupted into smoke. Harry started to make his next move.

" _Deprimo_!" Harry heard Marik cast the wind damaging spell from the other side of the smoke. The spell had two results. The first was that the wind rushing towards Harry brought with him all of the smoke that his _transmorgo_ spell had caused. The second was that if that spell hit him much like Cho did to Neville it would force him off the stage. He had to put a shield up.

" _Protego!"_ The shield formed in front of Harry as he cast the spell absorbing the now flurry of black smoked winds that hit it.

" _Expelliarmus. . . Lumos maxima!"_ Harry heard Marik cast two more spells from somewhere on the other side of the flurry of smoke.

" _Transmorgo!"_ The spell had been Harry's first extinct as soon as he heard Marik cast _expelliarmus_ again. However as soon as he cast it he realized he had made a mistake. Right as the smoke cleared he saw that Marik had not even cast the _expelliarmus_ at him but simply just straight up in the air. He had just cast it to get Harry to reveal his position. Which Harry did as soon as he cast the _transmorgo_ spell. Harry's spell went on to hit absolutely nothing, but by revealing where he was in the smoke Marik's _Lumos maxima_ spell hit him full force and Harry was immediately blinded.

" _Stupefy!"_ Harry heard Marik cast.

" _Protego!"_ Hoping he picked the right direction to shield, as well as hoping that his shield would defend against the spell Harry cast the shield spell. At first he thought that he had chosen the right direction and his shield had worked as he felt the impact of Marik's _stupefy_ on his shield. However, that feeling was quickly proven wrong. The _lumos maxima_ spell had made Harry's world a bright white but as soon as he felt the impact of Marik's spell that white slowly faded to a black. He felt his body fly through the air. As the last bits of white faded to black he never felt his body land. But he did feel the feeling of overwhelming defeat at losing the duel.

* * *

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	6. Book1: Chapter 6

**Hermione**

She and Marik had been sitting in the busy hospital wing for a few hours now. The large wool bedside chair she had been reading in had long since grown uncomfortable and lost its cushioning after just the first few minutes of sitting in it.

 _You would think with magic they could make these things more comfy. Or maybe they make them uncomfortable to persuade you not to get hurt._ She thought to herself, trying to find a way to get comfy. Either way sitting much longer in this chair and she would need a bed in the hospital soon to have her spine healed.

Hermione had been trying to read ahead in her potions book while they sat there waiting. Even after two weeks of wracking her brain she still had been unable to come by any inspiration for her end of year project for potions class. Each day she had gone through a different journal or book on the subject and today she was even making her way through a book Professor Snape had leant her. However, even in possession of a book she was extremely excited to read her bookmark still sat between the same pages that it had started in when they arrived at the hospital wing a few hours back. She was too distracted and distraught to read at the moment, which was saying something for her.

The first year's part of the dueling tournament had wrapped up a few hours earlier and from the chatter of the rest of the people in the hospital wing the fourth year's tournament was just now getting started. While she was sad that she and Marik were missing out on getting to see all the upper level magic that would be taking place she would have felt worse if they had not come.

The display of magic that she had seen during the first year tournament was truly inspiring. She was proud of Marik for winning their year; although she was sure from the way she had reacted to losing he could tell she was also certainly jealous. Even though she and Marik had not met each other in the finals like they had planned, they both had performed amazingly and were able to put into effect everything that they had been working on with Quirrell.

No one else was prepared for Marik's usage of the _incarcerous_ spell, both of them being able to cast a _stupefy_ spell, or the power they both could put behind their other spells. Not even Harry, who ended up beating her, was prepared for the power she could put into her _incendio_ spell. His face had been priceless when she evaporated his _aguamenti_ spell.

His face now though was replaced with one that seemed to be deep in a dream instead of the serious one that he had put on whilst he was dueling. He looked peaceful, friendly, and cute as he slept somberly in his hospital bed.

During Marik's duel with Harry, Marik had ended the duel with a stunning display of magic that had landed Harry in the hospital wing. Marik had lured Harry into casting the transfiguration spell that he had used during both Harry's duel with her and once with Marik. Although during her duel with Harry she had no idea what spell it was that he cast to do the transfigurations, it did become clear during Harry's duel with Marik that Harry was using certain spells as decoys for his transfiguration spell. Marik used that to his advantage in his duel with Harry. He had blinded him, along with the rest of the Hall's spectators with the _lumos maxima,_ and then nailed Harry square in the chest with a powerful _stupefy._

When the spell, which had been an extremely powerful one, hit Harry in the chest he was sent flying across the Hall unconscious. His body had landed right into the house point glasses behind the teachers. Hermione felt bad that not only did Harry lose in the finals, get stunned by a powerful spell that he no doubt would be sore from for a while, but he also had to get quite a few stitches from the glass Madame Pomfrey removed from all over his body.

Marik had obviously not been aiming for Harry to hit the glass, but he had felt just as bad as she did at the sight of him lying in the Great Hall injured. They both had decided it would be good for Harry to have someone by his side when he woke up.

Although he looked peaceful and innocent just lying there now, during the tournament he had proven himself to be anything but that. Not only had he cast transfiguration spells that she was dying to know what they were, but he has also proven to be quite the good duelist. Marik had told her when they first arrived and were discussing the tournament that if the girl named Cho had not cast the wind spell _windumgusto_ in her first duel, he would not have come up with the idea to use a _deprimo_ spell to clear out the smoke that Harry created with his transfiguration spell, and probably would have been hit by Harry's next spell.

"How much longer do you think he will be asleep?" Marik asked her, breaking her train of thought.

"The potions Madame Pomfrey gave him should be wearing off soon," she answered, closing the book on her lap again. It was really pointless for her to keep trying to read at the moment.

"You find any ideas for an end of year project in your book yet?" Marik asked her.

"Still no, I can't focus on reading right now. I'm still replaying the whole tournament over and over again in my head," she answered.

"Think he will try and hex me when he wakes up?" Marik asked, looking guilty.

"I'm sure he will understand it was an accident, plus he probably won't remember anything since you knocked him out before he hit the glass," Hermione answered.

"You sure you're okay? I know I keep asking but I'm just making sure," Marik asked for about the fifth time since they arrived.

"YES Marik I am fine! You should be proud that you won, not apologetic. Besides I think I made it far enough and used good enough spells to help me get better marks for the end of the year ability ratings. Plus there is always next year," she answered, already ready for next year's tournament.

"True. We really should thank Quirrell during our next study session with him. Without him we would have been screwed," Marik replied. He was right.

So far in their first two months of Hogwarts she had learned more from Quirrell in the few hours they had with him each week than she had in all of her classes combined. She even found herself wanting to go to Quirrell's office more than the library often times. Professor Quirrell's training along with Marik's friendship had been the only reason honestly she had been able to make it this far at Hogwarts.

Since the day she had discovered Marik training in a practice room both she and Marik had spent almost every minute they could together working, studying, and training. They did all of their homework together, ate every meal together, and did practically everything else with each other. In just a short period of time the two of them had become practically inseparable.

While the two of them worked together to help each other on almost everything, almost everything they worked together on became a competition. In classes it was who could earn the most points, in the library it was who could find the coolest new book, in their practice room it was who could cast the most powerful and the difficult spell. The drive and competition between them had made the school year a lot more fun so far and honestly it had pushed them both and their limits with their magic.

"Look, I think he is waking up!" Hermione said to Marik pulling herself out of her train of thought again.

"Ughhmmmpff…" Harry mumbled as his eyes slowly opened. "Where am I? What happened?" Harry said as he cleared out his eyes with his hands and noticed for the first time the two visitors at his bed. "What are you two doing here?" Harry asked them, looking confused.

"Hi Harry, I don't think we have formally met yet. I'm Hermione Granger," she said with a smile. She would have extended a hand out but she figured he was too sore to move.

"Oh yeah, and I'm Marik Ose." Marik followed her lead and introduced himself.

"I know who you both are, why are you here though?" Harry asked them, sounding grouchy.

"Well… see what had happened was," Marik started to explain.

"When Marik hit you with his last _stupefy_ spell it sent your body right into the house point scoring glasses. It wasn't on purpose and if the teachers hadn't been blinded by the _lumos maxima_ spell they would have been able to catch your body first. Anyways, we felt bad and wanted to make sure you were okay," she said apologetically, hoping he wouldn't hate them.

"I guess that explains these stitches," Harry said looking over the stitches on his arms.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Harry. It wasn't on purpose I swear. I mean I wanted to hit you hard, but not that hard," Marik said with his usual smirk on his face.

"It's okay, congratulations on winning by the way. Where did you two learn spells like that? I've cast a basic _incendio_ before but never one like you did, and I know _stupefy_ is supposed to be a really tough spell to learn," Harry said with a questioning look towards her.

"Well ummm. . ." Marik scrambled for something to say knowing that they had promised not to tell anyone else about their lessons with Quirrell.

"We have our secret sources," she answered and quickly went to change the subject. "We will make you a deal. We will teach you how to do those spells if you teach us the transfiguration spell that you did. Neither one of us could figure out which spell you used nor how you did it. Deal?" Hermione asked as she tried to put on her best puppy face. She couldn't help her curiosity and thirst to know everything. If it meant sharing a few things Quirrell had taught them to find out she was willing to make that trade.

"Uhhh… Yeah I guess. . . That sounds fair." Harry looked puzzled at her answer and offer.

"Here, Madam Pomfrey said you were supposed to drink this when you woke up, it's for pain relief." She handed him the dark blue potion from the bed's nightstand. "How are you feeling?" She asked him, assuming it would be bad.

"I feel okay, upset I lost but other than that okay," Harry answered. He did look about as flustered as she had when she had lost.

"Well you put on quite the show, and you motivated me to put in a lot more work into my practices," She replied truthfully. Harry was about to respond when Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her office.

In through the doors to the hospital wing came Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, who was levitating an unconscious girl's body through the doors. The three of them stared on curiously as Snape brought the girl over to a hospital bed. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey quickly closed the curtains around them.

"Wonder what that was all about," Marik said.

"Do you think it happened in the tournament?" Hermione asked.

"Let's find out," Harry said grabbing his wand from the nightstand.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, staring at him curiously.

"Find out what happened, or do you not want to know?" Harry asked her.

"I do!" Marik interjected.

"Yeah fine, go ahead just don't get me in trouble." Marik rolled his eyes at her last comment. She never would admit it to him but she probably did worry a little too much. Harry picked up his wand from his bed's nightstand and pointed it at the curtains the professors and Madame Pomfrey were behind.

" _Eavsdrovo,"_ Harry whispered out the spell. Immediately out of his wand voices could be heard. " _Muffliato,"_ Harry whispered the second spell that Hermione used every time she and Marik studied in the library. She leaned in to hear the voices coming from Harry's wand.

"Stupid, bloody, fourth year fool using a petrifying spell in a duel. Not only did he not even know the proper spell or wand movements he did not even know what the spell did. I told Albus we needed stricter rules on this silly tournament," she recognized the voice as McGonagall's say.

"Is the other boy okay?" Madam Pomfrey asked the two professors.

"I certainly hope not after a stunt like that," Professor McGonagall responded, sounding extra flustered.

"Headmaster Dumbledore sent him down to Hagrid's gardens to gather the mandrakes that have been growing there for the mandrake potion that Miss Romulus here will be needing," Snape responded.

"Why didn't he just get Hagrid to bring them up, if the student was foolish enough to cast a spell he didn't know surely he can't be trusted picking a mandrake?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Hagrid is still off in the forest hunting whatever has been killing the unicorns out there, another one was found killed last week. And we were assured by Pomona picking Mandrakes is covered in year two." Snape sneered.

"Oh my… That makes how many unicorns now?" Madam Pomfrey asked seeming concerned.

"This would be the third. Apparently whatever is killing them is close to death though, so Hagrid shouldn't have much trouble killing it. Something that is willing to kill a unicorn no matter how powerful the blood is cannot hope for much of a live to life after that," Professor McGonagall answered.

"I am afraid we must be back, Poppy. The fifth year duels are getting started soon and we have already missed grading too many duels because of this," Snape said. "The boy should be here soon with the mandrakes."

Harry quickly put his wand back on the nightstand and laid back down like he was pretending to sleep as soon as the professors finished talking. She and Marik quickly followed his lead. Right when they both got their books opened and started to pretend to read the professors drew the curtain and stormed out of the hospital wing.

"Unicorns. . ." she mumbled to herself, the cogs already turning in her head.

"Unicorn Blood!" Marik said after the professors had left.

"Shhh! Not here, wait!" she interrupted him. "Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione yelled. The two boys beside her looked at her startled.

"Yes dear, do you mind waiting? I'm a bit busy here," Madam Pomfrey shouted from behind the curtains.

"Yes of course, it's just that Harry here is feeling all better and wants to go watch the rest of the tournament. I already went over with him the potions he needs to drink the next few days," Hermione responded, bending the truth a little.

"Yes, Yes, of course dear. I better not see you back here anytime soon, Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey answered from the curtains. Harry was just staring so she took a quick jab at him to get him to answer. She probably should not have hit a guy who just had over twenty stitches that hard but oh well he would get over it.

"Ouch! Why did you hi…" Harry started and she jabbed him again.

"Answer her!" Hermione whispered at him.

"Yes. . . you won't," Harry shouted out still rubbing his arm where she had hit him twice.

"Come on follow me," Hermione ordered the two boys to follow her.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked her as he slowly sat up in his bed.

"Shh. . . No talking until we get there," Hermione answered. After helping Harry get up she led them through the castle past the Great Hall, towards the main staircases in the direction of the library. As they passed the Great Hall she felt another sting of regret at not being able to witness the remainder of the tournament but what they had heard could be even better than watching a few duels.

"I thought we were going to watch the rest of the duels?" Harry asked her again.

"Harry, please don't tell me that you are dense?" Hermione said in her most condescending voice. "Now for the last time no more talking and come on." They both again started following her. After making their way up a few flights of stairs they finally made it into the library.

"Marik, Hermione! While I must admit it's always a pleasure seeing you I thought you would surely be watching the duels? Congratulations by the way Marik I heard you were the first year winner," Madam Pince said to the trio as soon as they walked in.

"Hi madam Pince! Thank you, it means a lot! Actually the tournament is why we are here. We saw a few spells performed that we wanted to research. You know me and Hermione couldn't wait until tomorrow," Marik said with a bit of added charm that all the teachers seemed to eat like chocolate. Madam Pince who normally had a cold face that rivaled McGonagall's always seemed to break into smile when Marik talked to her. "Harry was going to show us some of the books he found his transfiguration spells in as well."

"Ahh well I am sure you all will be able to find what you are looking for. The two of you seem to know this library just as well as I do," Madam Pince told them. "If you need anything honey let me know."

"Yes Madam Pince!" Hermione and Marik said in unison.

"Okay, to the usual spot." Hermione said to Marik and Harry as she led them to the back of the library.

"Hold on, Harry, don't sit down yet, I have to add your name to the reserve sign that madam Pince made for me and Hermione. If you try and sit down it won't be pretty," Marik told Harry.

"We weren't here to see it, but Madam Pince told us that a second year tried to sit at our table one day and the entire history section in the library came and started giving him paper cuts," Hermione said, grimacing at the mental image.

"You have your own table?" Harry asked them. "I'm here every day and I never got my own table."

"Perks of knowing when and how to suck up, Potter," Marik said with another smirk. "Okay all good." Marik finished adding Harry onto their reserved sign and they all sat down.

"So what's with all the secrecy and needing to come here? What did I miss in the hospital wing?" Harry asked the two of them, looking confused. She made eye contact with Marik and they both nodded in agreement knowing what the other was thinking.

"Harry. . . We just met you so before we start talking we need to know that we can trust you," Marik said breaking the silence.

"What? Of course you can trust me!" Harry said looking genuine.

"Well you are in a different house then we are and we don't really know who you are friends with or what kind of person you are at all," Hermione answered, feeling bad for accusing him.

"The both of you two are in different houses and you trust each other. Plus he is a Slytherin which is a house known for being _as cunning and sly as needed to meet their needs_. Trust me, I wouldn't tell anyone even if I actually had someone to tell. Your secrets are safe with me," Harry finished.

Hermione felt sad at Harry saying that he had no one to tell. If it had not been for Marik who was her one friend here at Hogwarts she would be in the same boat. Harry looked and sounded honest enough so after making eye contact and getting another nod from Marik she figured it was okay to continue.

" _Muffliato!"_ She cast the spell around them just to make sure that if Madam Pince made a walk around that she would not hear anything. "Okay so what do you remember hearing the professors say in the hospital wing, Harry?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Uhh that a fourth year had used a petrifying spell that apparently he did not know how to use?" Harry answered in a question.

"What else?" she asked him.

"They said that there was something in the forest attacking unicorns," Harry again answered.

"Exactly!" Hermione replied enthusiastically.

"Harry you may not have been paying any attention to me this year in classes but I have been paying a little attention to you. You are one of the better first years, surely you must have got some ideas like me and Hermione did," Marik said to Harry.

"I'm afraid I'm not as smart as you both think I am apparently," Harry said, still looking confused.

"What do you know about unicorns, Harry?" Hermione asked him trying to get him to think harder.

"Uhh. . .They are pretty rare. They are one of the most magical creatures in the world. I'm pretty sure that killing them is bad luck or something too. I'm afraid I haven't read a lot on magical beasts yet," Harry answered.

"You are exactly right, Harry. Unicorns are _extremely_ rare creatures. In the _Hogwarts, a History_ _Book_ it also says, much like you did, that anything or anyone that kills a unicorn is punished to live a cursed life," Hermione said.

"Why would something kill it then if it is so rare and it would be cursed then?" Harry asked still looking confused at where they were going with this.

"Because they are so _rare_ , and one of the most _magical_ creatures in the world," Marik answered, adding emphasis to his words.

"Harry if something is killing a unicorn it is most likely killing it to drink its blood," Hermione added.

"Wh…" Harry started to ask but she continued.

"A unicorn's blood can keep you from dying. It is not known for how long since no one is willing to get cursed and test it. But it is known from a few cases to have saved people or creature's lives that should have died. Although they all died quickly after anyways from the curse," Hermione said.

"I still don't understand why this has you two so excited and everything? Are you excited that there is a monster killing unicorns in the forest? Or do you want to go get some Unicorn's blood to drink and be cursed?" Harry asked them sarcastically.

"No Harry, not to _drink_ ," was all that Marik said. The two of them just stared at Harry waiting for a response.

"You two want to go out into the _forbidden_ forest where there is a monster that is killing unicorns and drinking its blood to collect some unicorn blood? Are you crazy!" Harry asked them shouting the last part.

"I thought Gryffindor's were supposed to be the brave and brawny ones?" Marik playfully asked her.

"Oh Shut it!" Harry shouted to Marik.

"Harry, we are certainly not crazy, well maybe a little." She smiled at the last part.

"I may not know that much but I am pretty sure killing them is illegal, not to mention cursed. Plus if you come walking back into school with unicorn blood I'm pretty sure the professors are smart enough to connect the dots," Harry continued.

"Harry, do you know what type of wand I have?" Hermione asked him.

"No, how would I?" Harry's elevated tone continued.

"My wand is ten inches, brown Vinewood, _unicorn_ hair _._ We do not want to kill a unicorn, Harry. We just want to go out there and collect some resources from it. Yes it is illegal to kill a unicorn, but it is not illegal to use resources from a unicorn.

They are just like any other living creatures out there in the world, they live and they die. Because they are so rare and so valuable the Ministry of Magic regulates almost all of the unicorn trade and breeding. Whenever one of the Ministry's unicorns dies they sell off all of the resources to the highest bidder. Any shops that are lucky enough to get their hands on unicorn resources do the same.

There are plenty of unicorn supplies out there in the magical world, like you said it is just extremely rare because of how magical it is. So it would not be illegal to go collect some resources from the forest if there are any left, dangerous and rule breaking yes, but not illegal. Plus I figured if we find any dead unicorns we could give them a proper burial." Hermione was sure Marik had not been thinking that last part but she liked to think she was a sensitive person, especially towards animals and creatures.

"So you want to go out into the dangerous _forbidden_ forest just to get some valuable resources to sell to the highest bidder?" Harry asked.

"Honestly maybe he is dense," Hermione said to Marik, getting a smile from him in reward for her sarcastic comment.

"No Harry, screw the money. There are thousands of things we could do with the resources we collect. We would split them equally and with them we could do tons of stuff to benefit our magic and learning. Plus we could pretty much guarantee ourselves to be able to use them to come up with something for an end of the year project that would give us top marks," Marik replied. That last part of his statement seemed to finally break through to Harry and get his attention.

"First off I am not dense! Ten minutes ago I was unconscious from a powerful _stupefy_ spell so I apologize if this is all a happening a little too fast for me to digest," Harry said pointing at Hermione. He was kind of cute when he was mad. Eww what was she thinking. . . Anyways! Harry continued. "Also I always planned on trying to get a Master ' _M_ ' level grade in all of my courses, so I don't know how I feel about helping you both get resources that might help you beat me."

"Don't worry about that, Harry, trust me when I say Hermione and I are both in the same boat when it comes to that. If you couldn't tell from the dueling tournament and classes with me we are just as competitive as anyone," Marik started.

"Especially when it comes to anything magic or school related. We are both in the same boat as you, and we are both going for ' _M_ ' marks too," Hermione added.

"Then why would you want to help each other get something that might allow the other person to get a better grade than you?" Harry asked them.

"Because Hermione would be hopeless without me!" Marik joked, earning a roll of the eyes from her.

"Haha not funny!" Hermione said sarcastically. "Because we are _friends,_ Harry, and you need friends to survive here at Hogwarts," Hermione said sincerely. From the look that last comment provoked on Harry's face her earlier assumption that Harry did not have many friends here at Hogwarts was confirmed.

"Yeah, only one of us can get an ' _M_ ' in each class, but me and Hermione are both in agreement that were okay with coming in second as long as we still get to learn a lot of cool powerful magic, and if it helps us on the path to greatness that's okay too. Now if we come any lower than second or third that's a different story," Marik answered Harry, laughing at the last part. His comments seemed to lighten Harry up a little and the beginnings of a smile started to be visible. Marik really did have a way with people.

"Plus the students that get an ' _O_ ' in each class still get almost as much recognition, the same chance for a ministry grant, and the status of being one of the top ranked students in school or possibly even Europe. I even read that. . ." Hermione started to continue.

"Here we go," Marik interrupted her. "Brace yourself, Harry, anytime she starts a story with _I read_ you are in for quite the lecture," Marik joked.

"Oh shut up Marik, I do not do it that much," She knew as soon as she said it that it was a lie. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted!" She gave Marik a glare. "I once read after I found out about the grading system here at Hogwarts that some of the most powerful, most known, and most famous wizards only received a few ' _M_ ' level grades during their time in school and they most often received ' _O_ ' grades, even Dumbledore. Dumbledore averaged straight ' _O_ ' grades his first five years at Hogwarts. It wasn't until his third year when he started his research with dragon's blood that he got his first ' _M_ '," she replied. Harry seemed to be thinking a lot at what they were saying.

"I don't know. I mean you both do have a lot of points, and I won't lie I do like the sound of having the opportunity to get a great end of the year project, but you both just met me. I don't get why you would include me in all this, or risk me having the chance to get a higher mark than you in a class," Harry said to the two of them.

"You are right, Harry, we did _technically_ just meet you, but since day one in every class you have been making my life hell trying to keep up or get ahead of you. I would much rather have you on my side as a friend who gets a few grades higher than me than have you as an enemy. Plus like I said earlier Hermione and I are looking to become great, and learn all the magic we can. We could benefit a lot from having you as our friend. If that means we both get one less ' _M_ ' and have to settle for an ' _O_ ' were both okay with that," Marik said, hitting the nail on the head with exactly how she felt.

"Marik is right, Harry. You proved today in the tournament that you are skilled and powerful enough to be a top student here at Hogwarts, and from what Marik has talked about in his classes you perform just as well in there. What is all that worth though if you go it alone?" she said pausing for a second to collect her thoughts. "Plus you can't expect to know everything on your own, or be able to practice everything on your own. You need people in your life. You need friends," Hermione said.

"Hell if we gave you a quiz on unicorns today you would have failed without us." Marik joked, interrupting her.

"You are the absolute worst, Marik!" she said to him, rolling her eyes in the process. "Basically what Marik and I are failing horribly in trying to say, Harry, is that we want you to be our friend. We could learn a lot from each other and make our time at Hogwarts a lot more fun in the process," Hermione tried to say it in the best way that she could.

She and Marik really were in agreement on Harry. He was a really smart and gifted wizard, he had proven that much. She was excited at the prospect of not only having another wizard as good as he was to learn from and with, but also just simply just making another friend. She hoped that he would say yes. Who would have ever imagined Hermione Granger with two friends, certainly she never would have for sure.

"And we brought you here and told you all of this because we want you to join us in the forest, Harry," Marik added with a serious tone.

"Okay. . ." Harry said pausing with a concerned but hopeful look. "I'm in," Harry added, extending his hand out to Hermione. "Friends?"

"Friends!" She took his hand and shook it. He then did the same with Marik.

"So what's the plan then?" Harry asked them both.

"Well we haven't actually got that far yet…" Hermione answered with a cringe.

"Well… Do you have any ideas? What were you even considering using the resources you collect from the unicorn for?" Harry asked them.

"Well that's actually why we are here, I figured after we got everything talked out that we could start our research now," Hermione answered.

"Okay, well why don't we split it up. Hermione you go look for books that might find us uses for all things unicorn, and Marik and I can start thinking of a plan for how we can actually get to the forest and back without getting caught… or killed…" Harry said, emphasizing the last part.

"Sounds like a plan!" She immediately went off to the magical beasts section of the library. She grabbed basically every book she could find on mystical beasts in the library. She also grabbed a few other books thinking that it might be a good idea to look at some magical theory and potions books to see if there were any theories or potions that used resources from a unicorn.

For the next few hours she frustratingly went through page after page of books looking for anything while Harry and Marik threw out idea after idea in hopes of coming up with a plan.

"I found something!" she yelled out, probably a little too loudly.

"What is it?" Harry and Marik both asked her at in unison.

"I was right to think there would be something in a potions book!" She had started with the all of the magical creature books she had got off of the shelves, but they all had little more information than what they already knew about Unicorns.

"It says here…" She searched for the lines she had just read. "Unicorn blood along with a mixture of unicorn tail hair can be used as substitute for rose oil and a hippogriff's feather in the _animarevealo_ potion. The potion is a very advanced potion that is not encouraged by Ministry Potion Officials to be brewed by nonprofessionals. This is due to the vast number of risks during the brewing process, along with the lengthy time the potion requires to be brewed.

"The _animarevealo_ potion is used to first reveal to a witch or wizard if they have the ability to perform an _animagi_ transformation.

"Secondly, if the potion is brewed with unicorn blood along with unicorn hair instead of rose oil and a hippogriff's feather the potion will show the drinker not only if they are an animagus but also which form their _animagus_ will take.

"Although brewing the potion with the unicorn substitutes extends the brewing period along with the overall risk of the brewing process itself, it has been deemed worth using the more rare and expensive resources to save time with the overall extremely difficult _animagus_ timeline.

"The _animagus_ experience has been known to be extremely difficult and advanced, which is one of the many reasons why there are so few registered _animagi_. The only known brewers of the potion currently are Ministry Potion Officials who are selling single use doses at 356 galleons each. The Board of European Potion Brewers has rated this potion's difficulty level at a 7/10." Hermione finished reading. As she read through the page for the second time she realized how unrealistic being able to brew a potion like that actually was.

"That's perfect!" Marik responded with excitement right after she finished reading.

"What? No Marik after reading it again there is no way we would be able to do a potion like this even if we did find a unicorn in the forest!" Hermione tried to explain.

"Why couldn't we? If you presented a potion like that as an end of the year project you would be guaranteed an ' _M_ ' mark. Plus we would have three of us working on it and doing all the research needed. It's like you said Hermione, with one it would be impossible, but with all three of us I think we could do it," Harry replied confidently.

"Plus we could brew a little extra and find out if any of us are _animagi_ or not. I know it's rare for muggle-borns but hell I'm adopted so maybe I am one! If one of us found out they were an _animagi_ too if you could just transfigure even a fingernail into your _animagus_ form that would for sure probably give you an ' _M_ ' in transfiguration. The subject is not even covered until fifth year, and they never actually teach it in class because it is so hard," Marik added enthusiastically.

The two of them had a point. While from what she had read about _animagi_ told her pretty much what Marik had said that the odds of her being one was slim to none, brewing the potion was advanced enough to most-likely guarantee an ' _M_ ' score. Harry was right too. With three of them working around the clock they would have a much better chance at brewing it successfully.

"Marik I know for a fact that you are better at potions than me. If we do this you should take credit for brewing the potion," Harry offered Marik politely.

"No way, I may be better than you but Hermione is the best here at potions by far. Plus she found the idea for the potion. If we do this she gets the credit. Deal?" Marik answered Harry.

"Deal!" Harry agreed with a nod.

"Wait guys we don't even know that we can do this! And you are crazy if you think I am going to let the both of you do all of this just for me to get all the credit!" Hermione argued.

"Now who is being dense?" Harry said with a smile, Marik laughed. "If we manage to brew this successfully we would not be just doing it for you. Yeah the potion part would be a great end of year project for potions but finding out if you are an _animagus_ is just as big. Plus I agree with Marik. Although the odds are slim off any of us actually being one, if one of us was we could pretty much guarantee an ' _M_ ' in transfiguration class for like the next seven years," Harry added excitedly.

"So your parents are muggleborn too, Harry?" Hermione asked after hearing his statement.

"No I am a half-blood, whatever that really means." Harry seemed to not like the term. "My father's family was a pure-blood family and my mother was a muggleborn but that doesn't really matter," Harry continued. " _Animagi_ are only slightly more common in non muggleborn witches and wizards, and that's most likely because pureblood and half-blood witches and wizards have more access to discovering if they are _animagi_ than muggleborn ones do. My father I know for a fact is an animagi though, as well as one of his close friends," Harry answered.

"Wow that's amazing!" Hermione took note of all Harry said about the different blood types of wizards. It wasn't often that a pureblood or half-blood would admit to something like that from what she had read. She had learnt that much in just her short time at Hogwarts, especially with the help from people like Draco Malfoy who made it a point to talk about people's blood status constantly. "If your father was one, although I must admit I haven't read too much on the subject only a few books, doesn't that increase your odds of being one?" Hermione asked.

"I'm honestly not really sure. I don't remember if his father was one or not," Harry said.

"Do you think he would be willing to give us some information on it? I mean anything would help," Marik asked Harry.

"I'm not sure if my dad would. He was a pretty big rebel in his day, but my mom has made him a lot more protective over me, especially with all that happened. I could ask my uncle Sirius Black though, he is a lot more willing to part with information than my parents are, especially if I add some promises to prank a few Slytherins and Hufflepuffs in when I ask him," Harry said.

"What do you mean all that happened?" Hermione tried to ask.

"YOU ARE COUSINS WITH THE ICE-QUEEN DAPHNE BLACK!" Marik shouted. Apparently that had been all he had heard in the conversation. Hermione knew just how much Marik disliked Daphne Black.

"Oh. . ." Hermione sensed that Harry seemed to immediately regret what he had just said based off of Marik's reaction. "Kind of, but not really. My dad and Sirius have been practically brothers their entire lives. So Sirius has been pretty much a permanent member of my household growing up. He would always bring his family over when he came so my family always just called Daphne my cousin. We aren't really that close though, we probably said fewer than a hundred words to each other growing up," Harry answered.

"Ughh I can't stand her! Did you know that she told Professor Snape that I had been cheating during our second potions test! If I hadn't been able to convince him that it was a lie and squirm my way out of any trouble I would have probably had detention for the whole year because of her," Marik said angrily.

"Harry, what did you mean when you said with all that has happened?" Hermione asked not wanting the conversation to go too far off track from what Harry had said earlier. Again Harry looked like he was biting a bullet. "Harry, we are your friends, you can trust us, whatever is said at this table stays between the three of us. We promise," She did her best to sound as sincere as possible. She meant what she said. She glanced at Marik who nodded in agreement to Harry.

"Uhhh well… I'm not sure where to start, usually people already know this story, and most the time they even know more than I do," Harry said looking again puzzled.

"What story?" Hermione asked Harry, interested in what he was talking about.

"Well. . . My story. . . I'm kind of, well. . . Famous," Harry said, his face blushing.

"Yeah and I am Thorin son of Thráin II, grandson of Thrór. Real Funny Harry," Marik said accusingly.

"You read Lord of The Rings?" Harry asked Marik ignoring the sarcasm.

"Of course I did! I was a muggle nerd, that's beside the point though! What do you mean you are famous!" Marik shouted.

"Well. . ." Harry started to answer but then stopped.

"Oh my god, Harry, just spill it already!" she shouted, tired of not knowing.

"Fine! I survived the killing curse when I was just a baby. Voldemort, who was known as the darkest wizard of all time, attacked me and my family. When he attacked me though the spell for some reason ricocheted off of me and hit him, killing him in the process. I didn't actually do anything special but since I was the first recorded survivor of the curse and the person people pinned as responsible for the death of Voldemort a lot of people consider me famous." Harry told them the story, looking to be in discomfort as he spoke.

"Does anyone know how you survived?" Hermione asked, curious to know.

"No not really, my parent's won't ever really talk about that night, and Sirius just says it was because I was wearing the expensive Hogwarts pajamas he had bought me for Christmas, which I highly doubt is an actual theory. Other than that the information that makes the most sense is either that I was just lucky, or that Voldemort made some error when casting the spell," Harry answered her question. It was obvious he did not like talking about this subject from his body language.

"Anyways back to the main point of all this. I will try and ask my uncle Sirius for any information that he can give, but regardless of that we still only have one real use for the unicorn resources at the moment, and no plan of how to actually get the resources. Even if we get them it's not fair if only one of us gets an ' _M_ ' out of this. We need to find more uses," Harry said to her and Marik.

"Harry is right, we need to keep doing research and find as much as we can about everything we can," Hermione said to both the boys. She was still curious about Harry's story and wanted to know more about him, but she figured that he had been through enough that day so far. She looked up at the clock above their table. It was already well past dinner time and closing in on curfew. She had no idea that they had spent that much time in the library already. The tournament was surely over by now, and curfew was coming soon.

"Guys it's almost curfew time. We should split up the research and meet back here tomorrow after classes. Does that sound good? Harry, me and Marik both finish at two every day, what time are you done so we can meet here?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Yeah that sounds like a plan. I'm not done until three everyday so I can get here a little after then. What should I be researching?" Harry asked her.

"Why don't we switch it up from what we were doing here for a day or two? Marik, you research possible uses for any resources we might get. Like you said, if I'm getting credit for brewing this potion you need to make sure that we have another option," she said to Marik, he nodded in agreement. "Harry and I will try and think of a way for us to get to the forest, find a unicorn, and get back without getting caught."

"Or killed," Marik added.

"Or killed," Hermione continued. "Harry you look into any ways that we might be able to sneak into and out of the forest without being caught by the professors. I will start looking into ways we can make sure we are safe in the forest and will be able to collect whatever we find. Let's just make sure we really think this through. We wouldn't want to end up dead, or worse expelled." Both the boys seemed to nod in agreement with her priorities, I mean who wouldn't. You would have to be a mingy little ginger to disagree with that logic, anyways… " Does that sound like a plan?" Hermione asked them.

"Yup," Marik answered.

"Yeah, I'll get started tonight," Harry added.

It was a plan then. It looked like her already busy schedule was about to get even busier. She was okay with that though.

Hermione had come into this semester a completely different person than she felt like she had become already this early into the year. Here she was talking about sneaking into a monster infested forest, breaking rules, and ignoring her authorities. She was a badass.

She giggled to herself at that thought. Maybe not a badass yet, but she would be. All of this had been an easy choice for her though. Marik had said it right, she wanted to be the best, learn everything, and make history with her magic in the process. If she had to break a few school rules to do that along the way she was ok with that. For tonight though, it was time to head back to her dorm and get some more planning done.

* * *

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	7. Book1: Chapter 7

**Harry**

"Harry would you open the damn window already! That bloody bird has woken up everyone in the castle besides you!" Ron Weasley was shouting from the other side of the first year Gryffindor boy's dormitory.

"Hmmpff what?" Harry barely got the words out as he rubbed his eyes. He had been up almost the entire night reading and judging from the dried drool on the side of his mouth along with the book sprawled across his lap he had apparently fallen asleep at some point.

"There is an owl for you at your window! It has been pecking at the glass for the past ten minutes!" Ron said to him looking angry.

"Oh sorry, I didn't hear it," Harry apologized, getting up from his bed and moving to the window. The owl was his father's' black barn owl Moonswing. As it hopped in through the window and flew over to his bed he could see that the owl was carrying a large package attached to his foot.

 _That's weird._ He thought to himself. I thought mail time was only during breakfast in the Great Hall.

"What is it?" Ron asked curiously from across the room.

"Sod off Ron," Harry said closing the curtains around his bed. Ron was only ever interested in something if there was a possibility he might get something out of it. He took the package off of his father's owl's leg and fed it one of Hedwig's owl treats.

"Don't tell Hedwig please," He playfully told his father's owl as it snacked on the treat. Hedwig had made it quite apparent in the first few days at Hogwarts that she was the only owl for Harry. He had once used a school owl to mail a letter since Hedwig had still been off hunting. Hedwig had been so jealous that she had made it a point to chew a number of holes in all of his school robes. Since then he had learned his lesson.

Taped to the package was a letter that he could tell was written by his father based on the poor handwriting. The way the package had been poorly wrapped as well also made that apparent, his perfectionist mother would have had a heart attack seeing a package wrapped this way. Anxious and curious to know what was inside he took the letter off of the package and opened it up to read:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _First off let me start by saying that you never got this package, and you especially never got this package from me. I very much like living and if your mother found out… well like I said, I very much enjoy living. Sirius and I were cleaning out some old boxes in the attic the other day while we were looking for the Halloween decorations (you know how your mother is with holidays) when we stumbled across a box of some of my old school stuff. One of the things we found was one of my most prized possessions that I had during my time at Hogwarts. My father gave it to me when I went to off to Hogwarts so I figured it was only right to make it a tradition and give it to you. Plus Sirius and I are too scared of your mother to actually put it to any good use here. Hopefully you will be able to find something 'fun' to do with it. Use it well._

 _Also congratulations on making it to the finals in the dueling tournament. Dumbledore was over at the house the other day taking a look at some of the research your mother and Hemera are doing with their work project and told us all about how well you did. I must confess I was impressed but not surprised when he told us you were using upper level transfiguration spells during your duels. You should look in the library for the book_ _Moby Morph's Transfiguration for Dummies_. _I thought I still had a copy lying around here somewhere but I couldn't find it. I know it has a cheesy title but Sirius, Remus, and I pretty much learned everything basic about transfiguration from that book, it really is pretty good. I'm sure your mother will be sending you a letter congratulating you on the tournament as well so act surprised when you get it. She also tore into Dumbledore quite a bit when she found out you had to take a trip to the hospital wing so if Dumbledore comes apologizing to you about it that's why. Next time aim for Snape by the way!_

 _Anyways keep up the great work, your mother and I are so proud of all that you have accomplished already. We both love you so much, and make sure you write your mother sometime soon to let her know your plans for the holiday break, she is already making tons of plans!_

 _Lots of Love,_

 _Dad_

 _P.S. If your mother ever finds out about this you make sure to tell her not only was it Sirius' idea, but he also had me under the imperius curse and made me send it!_

Harry couldn't help but smile and laugh at the letter from his father. From all of the stories he had heard growing up about his father and the _Marauders_ he knew that they had quite the reputation for mischief during their time at Hogwarts. Ever since Harry could remember though he had only experienced _that_ side of his father a few times. His mother had certainly tamed his father since his days at Hogwarts. He put the letter from his father to the side and opened up the poorly wrapped package on his bed.

Inside the package was a large cloak that was made from a very smooth purple and gold silk. He lifted up the cloak and checked the rest of the package to see if there had been something wrapped inside the cloak but he could not find anything else. To say he was confused was an understatement. Was this a prank from his father? It wasn't a very funny one if it was. He read the letter again to see if he missed anything the first time through but was unable to find anything.

"Maybe it has a warming charm on it or something?" Harry whispered to himself. He wrapped it around himself. It did feel warm, but not any warmer that what a normal blanket would have. Plus all of their blankets at home had a warming charm on them why would his father be so secretive about sending him one. He couldn't think of anything else though.

"Maybe I'm still missing something. . ." He decided to read the letter one more time. Maybe his father had put some hidden message into it in case someone else read the letter. He reached out for the letter again. "BLOODY HELL!" he shouted way too loudly. Knowing that everyone in the dorm probably heard that, he pulled out his wand quickly. " _Muffliato,"_ he whispered the spell on his curtains to make sure no one would be able to hear him again.

Looking down at where his arm should have been when he reached out for the letter instead was nothing. Looking over his entire body the only thing that was visible was one of his feet that was seemingly floating at the end of his bed.

"It's an invisibility cloak!" he said again to himself amazed. He had read about magical items like this before but he had never actually seen one. Invisibility items were _extremely_ rare. From what he remembered reading most magical items that were enchanted with invisibility only lasted for a few seconds and did not completely make the wearer fully invisible. This one however was not fading at all and he was completely invisible.

He moved the cloak around testing it out for a little while. It was truly amazing. Whenever the cloak covered part of his body, that part immediately turned invisible. However, when it was just lying on his bed it looked no different than any other blanket. The cloak also seemed to stretch and shrink depending on what he was looking to do with it. He stood up on his bed, ducking slightly to make sure no one could see him over the curtains, and put the cloak over his head. The cloak grew in length to reach all the way to the floor covering his ankles.

He then tried to put the cloak in his pajama pockets and it shrunk down to the size of a handkerchief until it fit. Now a few of the adventure stories that Sirius had told Harry that he had thought were impossible suddenly seemed a lot more realistic with a cloak like this. Sirius had told him one time that he and his father once snuck out of the castle at night and went to Hagrid's hut and knocked on Hagrid's door every five minutes hidden under the cloak. Sirius had said that Hagrid had gotten so mad that after the eleventh time they knocked he came out with a crossbow and took the door off its hinges. Apparently his father had started laughing so hard that Hagrid had almost shot at them with the crossbow.

He had assumed a lot of stories like that Sirius and his father had stretched the truth or made up just to entertain Harry growing up, but with a cloak like this it would be easy to sneak out of the. . . The thought hit him like a train.

"SNEAK OUT OF THE CASTLE!" he shouted out, again probably way too loudly. Luckily his _muffliato_ spell was still active though and no one in the dorm seemed to complain.

That was it! The cloak! It was the perfect way for them all to get into the forest and back into the castle without getting caught! The three of them had been wracking their brains since the day of the tournament trying to come up with a plan. Hermione had even started to try and learn seventh year disillusionment charms when they felt they were running out of options. This was the perfect plan though.

The cloak could easily stretch over three of them he figured. As long as they made it into the forest and back before curfew the front gate would be open and they could just walk back in unnoticed. If there was a monster in the forest there was no way it would be able to see them under the cloak. They could just cast a silencing spell on the cloak and wait for the monster to go away. It was perfect!

Harry jumped out of his bed pulling the curtains aside and went to quickly put on some clothes. He had not been this excited in his time at Hogwarts since Hermione and Marik had asked him to be their friend the day of the dueling tournament. He had to go to the Great Hall and wait for them at breakfast to tell them! After pulling on his Gryffindor sweater and some jeans he stuffed the invisibility cloak into his pants pocket and started out of the dorm.

"What are you in such a hurry for?" Neville asked him while rubbing his tired eyes from the bed next to Harry's.

"Nothing Neville, just ready to go get some breakfast," Harry said, technically not lying.

"Breakfast isn't for another hour Harry, go back to bed mate. It's the weekend, enjoy your sleep," Neville said rolling over and putting his pillow over his face. Neville was right; breakfast didn't start for another hour Harry realized as he looked as his watch. He was too excited though to just sit here and wait. He decided he would go to the Great Hall anyways. While he waited for them he could work on his astronomy end of year project. He grabbed his wand and his astronomy notes and made his way out of the empty Gryffindor common room towards the Great Hall.

Harry was used to being the only one walking around the castle. Since back in the first few weeks of classes when he had decided to increase his studying and practicing he had made it a point to wake up early and go to the library whenever he could to get some reading and research in, or go to a practice room and get some practice spells in. Ever since he had started doing that along with now having two friends who often joined him, Harry had seen a notable increase in not only his learning and performance, but his magic as a whole.

Marik had been absolutely right in the library when he had told him that they could all benefit from each other a lot more working together versus doing things on their own. Already Harry thought he had learned triple the amount in the month of October than he had in September.

Hermione and Marik each worked just as hard and many times even harder than he did. Just seeing how they studied, practiced, and worked had pushed him to be better more than he would have previously thought possible. While they all seemed to be fairly equal on overall magical abilities Hermione had distinguished herself as the best in potions out of the three of them. She had been helping him with Snape's assignments almost every day in return for him helping her with transfiguration, which although Marik wasn't ready to admit yet, Harry thought was the subject that he had the biggest lead in.

Hermione's help in potions had helped so much that even _Snape_ had given Harry a compliment on his _wideye potion's_ results, and thanked Harry for taking more after his mother than his father, which Harry assumed was meant as a compliment. Hermione was not the only one helping him though. Marik and Harry had also been exchanging a lot of information and learning a lot from each other. As promised Marik had taught Harry the spells _incarcerous, incendio,_ and _stupefy_ that Marik and Hermione had used on him during the tournament in exchange for him teaching them the _transmorgo_ spell and the plethora of different ways it could be used.

After making Harry promise not to tell anyone, Marik and Hermione also told him that they were getting private lessons with Quirrell a few times a week. Their lessons with Quirrell were how they had learned and practiced so many advanced dueling techniques and other spells.

At first Harry had been upset that they hadn't told him about the lessons sooner and let him come along, but Hermione had told him that when Marik had told her about it Professor Quirrell had almost stopped teaching Marik altogether. The two of them had to promise to Quirrell that they would not tell any other students and especially not tell any teachers about the lessons or he would stop working with them. After Hermione and Marik had promised Harry that they would share with him and teach him everything they learned in their private lessons Harry was okay with it. After all Professor Quirrell wasn't one of his favorite teachers anyways so he was fine not having to spend more time with him.

While the access to new magic information was great, the greatest thing about being friends with Hermione and Marik was that they all have a similar thirst to know and learn everything they could about the world of magic. Unlike Hermione and Marik, he had grown up in a world that had always been filled with magic. So because of that he had the thirst to know not only everything about the world he had seen and grown up with, but also to obtain the abilities to go beyond that.

Even though Hermione and Marik were muggleborn and had not grown up around magic, they both still shared a similar mindset and goals to what he did. They shared his common thirst to learn everything about the magical world.

For them it was about discovering everything they could in this new world they had been brought into. Both of them were just as competitive at becoming the best at everything they discovered as he was. That competitive drive between them had pushed all three of their studying, research, and abilities to a whole new level. Through his friends Harry had even been able to come up with another end of year project as a result of their intense study sessions. That was the project he would be working on until Hermione and Marik made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

After making the short walk from the Gryffindor Common Room he arrived at the empty Great Hall and grabbed a seat in the middle of the Gryffindor table; facing the entrance so he could keep an eye out for his friends. That still sounded weird to him every time he said it, _he_ actually had friends.

He opened up his Astronomy books and began looking further into his research. Marik had actually given him the idea for his astronomy end of year project a few days ago when the three of them had been talking about their classes during dinner. Marik had made a comment about how he wanted to take astronomy as soon as he could take two electives so he could learn how to enchant the ceiling above his bed to look like the Great Hall's ceiling.

Since then Harry had been looking into making a portable galactic way-viewer. The idea behind it was to enchant an object to show you a real-time interactive image of the cosmos that you could carry around or project where ever you wanted. As far as he and Hermione had been able to find out so far there wasn't anything like it out there.

Hermione said that muggles had a thing called a planetarium that was kind of similar to his idea. She explained that it was also projected onto a ceiling, although it was not really interactive and certainly not portable. He had also spoken to Professor Sinistra about it and she seemed very intrigued by the idea. He was hoping that he would be able to find a way not only to get the object he enchanted to show an accurate real-time cosmos on command, but that the user would also be able to touch, change angles, zoom in or out, and basically move around the galaxy wherever and however they pleased.

His progress so far was slowly making him realize that this project might be a long term project that he might not be capable of finishing this year. He figured though if he could at least get a few parts of it done that he would still be able to turn some of his idea in for his end of year project. Then maybe he could finish the final copy for a future year's end of year project. With that in mind he had been looking to get started at least trying to figure out how to get an object enchanted to project a real-time image of the milky-way galaxy. So far he had not had much luck. He was currently reading a book about the known enchantments of the Hogwarts castle hoping he could find some of the spells used on the Great Hall's ceiling, but it was proving to be a difficult topic to find much information on.

He got lost in his work for a while until the first arrivers to the Great Hall grabbed his attention. He was disappointed to see that it was just two Hufflepuff girls though and not his friends. After getting disappointed he went back to his work. His eyes glanced up at the door anxiously each time he saw someone come through the doors. Finally after what felt like days Harry saw Hermione walk through the doors.

"HERMIONE! COME HERE NOW!" Harry yelled across the Hall failing to notice how loud he was and how many eyes were now on him. _Oops_ he thought to himself. Hermione, now with a slight blush on her face, made her way towards where he was sitting.

"Bloody Baron Harry, It's good to see you too but what was that all about. You probably woke up half the castle," Hermione said to him, her warm usual smile plastered on her face.

"Sorry I've been in here anxious and excited all morning now. It kind of just came out that way," Harry said, trying to contain himself.

"Why have you been here all morning? And what are you so excited about?" Hermione asked him, the blush on her face being replaced by a look of curiosity.

"Not yet. Let's wait until Marik gets here," Harry told her.

"Okay well. . . happy Halloween by the way Harry!" Hermione replied.

"Oh yeah, happy Halloween Hermione," Harry responded. He honestly had not realized it was Halloween in all of his excitement. As he looked round the Great Hall he noticed he had somehow managed to miss all of the decorations.

"So what are you working on? Or is that what we are waiting on Marik for?" Hermione asked him as she looked over his notes and books.

"No it's not. Just doing more research on my astronomy project; I found a few of the enchantments that were used on the ceiling but that is it so far. They look pretty tough, and have a lot of properties based on surface area and the makeup of what they are placed onto so I'm really going to have to get creative in finding a way to make my idea work," Harry said, realizing again how much work he had to get done if he wanted to make this project happen.

"Well it's good that you are at least getting going. I'm still at a dead end with my history of magic project. I can't think of anything outside of just presenting a paper on something about history, but that seems obvious and simple. It's not like I can cast a history spell or anything ya know?" Hermione explained, looking frustrated.

"Yeah, I have no idea for that one either; I honestly may end up just doing that. I was thinking about going to a muggle museum that my mother took me to in the town she grew up in over the holiday break. I want to try and see if maybe I can get any ideas from there," Harry responded.

"That's actually a really great idea Harry. I live right by a pretty big museum maybe I will have to do the same. Thanks for the idea!" Hermione said with a pretty smile on her face. "Hey look there's Marik," Hermione finished. Hermione and he waived Marik over as he made his way into the Hall.

"Hey guy's, what are you both doing here so early? I thought for sure I would be the first one here," Marik asked them as he sat down.

"Apparently Harry has a big secret. He has been making me wait for you for forever now before he will tell me!" Hermione told Marik. She always looked cute when she got frustrated at not knowing something.

"Ooh what's your secret Harry? Are the rumors we heard about you having private training sessions with Dumbledore actually true?" Marik asked him sarcastically, knowing that rumor obviously was not true.

"Shut up Marik!" Harry said. He looked around him to make sure no one was close enough to hear him. Thankfully it was still early enough that the Great Hall was still fairly empty, and anyone there was probably too tired anyways to listen. "Okay, so I have a plan to get us to the forbidden forest and back without getting caught!" Harry told them in an excited whisper.

"What? What is it?" Hermione said in excitement a little too loud.

"Shh Hermione!" Harry said to try to get her to be quieter and avoid any listening ears. " _Muffliato"_ Harry cast the spell quickly just to make sure no one would hear, he would have to talk quick before a teacher came in and noticed the spell. "This morning my father sent me an invisibility cloak. We can use it to sneak in and out of the castle with no one seeing us," Harry explained to Hermione and Marik.

"An invisibility cloak? I thought those were really rare? Did you tell your dad about us going into the forest then?" Marik fired the questions at him.

"No of course I didn't tell my dad that we were going to the _forbidden_ forest! He just randomly sent it. And they _are_ really rare. This one isn't like most of the ones I've read about either. It stretches to however big you need it to be, and shrinks to fit in your pocket. And the invisibility is one-hundred percent and it doesn't seem to fade over time," Harry answered.

"How did your dad get a cloak like that, and why did he send it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"The letter said that he got it from his father, and I don't know why he sent it but I can make some guesses though. My dad and his close friends were known as some of the biggest jokesters and pranksters in Hogwarts history. They used to tell me all sorts of fun and crazy adventures they used to go on sneaking around the school and pulling pranks on people. I guarantee they were able to do so many pranks successfully without ever getting caught because of this cloak though," Harry said to the others.

"So you think it will work? You think it can get the three of us out of the castle, into the forest, find a unicorn, and get back without getting caught?" Hermione asked looking skeptical.

"I do yeah," Harry answered truthfully. "It doesn't muffle sound so as long as we put a silencing spell and maybe an odor blocking spell on ourselves. I think we should be fine," Harry responded.

"Why an odor blocking spell?" Marik asked him.

"Well if there is a monster in the forest killing unicorns I would rather play it safe in case it has a good sense of smell," Harry answered Marik.

"Good call," Marik said with his usual smirk.

"Well it's the best plan we have got so far, so when should we try to do this?" Hermione asked the two of them.

"Today!" Harry answered bluntly.

"What? No way! We haven't had any time to plan or prepare!" Hermione said, again raising her voice.

"Think about it, Hermione, it's perfect. First off it's a weekend so students aren't in classes so we would have an excuse to be outside walking the grounds. Secondly it's a clear day so even if the forest is dense we would have the benefit of a little more light to help us find one of the unicorns' bodies. And it is Halloween, so the curfew is not until after midnight tonight. That would give us more time in case it takes a while to find what we need," Harry replied to Hermione. From the look on her face she was struggling to find a counter argument.

"It sounds like a plan to me," Marik agreed. "When do you think it would be best to leave?"

"I think the sooner the better, probably when everyone is here for lunch would be a good time to slip out unnoticed. That would give us enough time to go grab the supplies and gear we will need to collect the resources," Harry answered.

"I still don't know guys, are we sure this is a good idea?" Hermione asked looking nervous.

"No but it's our best chance if we really want to get these resources. We will be fine. What's that they say? No risk no reward or something," Marik answered Hermione.

"Fine! You both are right, we can't miss an opportunity to get our hands on something so magical because of over planning. We should divide what we are all bringing to make sure we don't end up going all that way for nothing," Hermione said to the group.

"Yeah, I agree. I will obviously bring the cloak; we should all bring a bag that we can enchant with an undetectable extension charm. Marik, you know that one right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I do. _Capacious extrimus_ , just do a clockwise wrist twirl when you cast it, it's pretty simple," Marik responded.

"Okay good. Hermione, you are in charge of bringing vials, Marik you bring your chisel, mallet, and small saw, and I will bring as many containers as I can find. Can you think of anything else we may need?" Harry asked the two.

"I can't, no," Marik answered.

"Me neither. If I do I will make sure I bring it. What do you say we meet in our usual practice room on the third floor right before lunch time? That way we can make sure no one sees us get under the cloak," Hermione asked them.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, make sure you wear something that isn't too loose. We will be crammed against each other under the cloak so we don't want to be stepping on each other's clothes. Okay?" Harry asked. Hermione seemed to blush as he said that for some reason.

"Yeah, will do," Marik answered.

"Okay," Hermione added.

"Alright let's go get prepared then. Make sure you're on time to the classroom. The sooner we get started the more time we will have out there," Harry said and the three of them left the Great Hall to get prepared.

When he made his way back to his room he first changed into a more worn down pair of black jeans that he had owned for quite a while along with an old brown sweater his mother had sewn him for his birthday a year or two ago.

Ever since the dueling tournament the three of them had spent a large amount of time researching the many magical things unicorns could be used for. The _animarevealo_ potion was their main idea so far. They would be bringing vials for unicorn blood and containers for unicorn hair that the potion required. While they had not narrowed down any other specific ideas they had all agreed they should bring as many empty vials and containers as possible to be prepared if they did stumble across a good idea in the future. Harry had even found one potion that required flakes from a unicorn horn, so just in case they planned on trying to get a unicorn horn if possible too.

Harry scrounged up every box he could find in his room, and shrunk them down to fit inside his now extremely deep satchel. Thankfully Neville ate a lot of chocolate so Neville's left over candy boxes would actually come in use for once.

After he had packed pretty much everything he could think of that they would need he lastly folded the cloak and put it into his back jean pocket. Looking at the clock he saw it was just about time for him to head towards the classroom. Doing one last scan around the room to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. Satisfied that he had not forgotten anything he grabbed his satchel and made his way to their third floor practice room.

Just like he had told Hermione they would be the halls were crowded with groups of students making their way in and out of the castle. When he made it up to the third floor and into their practice room he found that he was the last one to arrive.

"You both ready?" Harry asked them as he made his way into the room.

"Yeah, you?" Marik asked.

"Yup, I'm good to go," Harry answered.

"Let's make sure we have everything before we go," Hermione suggested.

"Alright Hermione, I brought about a hundred boxes, some water, some candy in case we get hungry, and an extra pair of socks," Harry answered somewhat sarcastically, Hermione was quite a perfectionist.

"I brought my chisel, hammer, short-saw, some extra vials I had as well, some flasks, a compass, a toothbrush, and of course an extra pair of socks," Marik added.

"Okay, good. I brought as many vials and flasks as I could find as well. And a few books just in case we need them," Hermione said rolling her eyes at them.

"Of course you brought books. You know, for in case the unicorn wants us to read it a bedtime story." Marik laughed as Hermione mentioned that of course she was bringing some books.

"Bugger off, Marik! Let's see the cloak then, Harry!" Hermione said excited. He pulled the cloak out of his pocket and immediately tossed it over himself.

"Wow that is incredible!" Marik said sounding excited.

"You really can't see anything," Hermione added.

"Well they do call it an _invisibility_ cloak for a reason Hermione," Harry joked.

"Oh really? Thanks for that, Harry. Now come on let us under, we should get going!" Hermione said.

He lifted up the cloak and just as it had done in his bedroom that morning it stretched long enough to fit the three of them under it. Once they were all hidden and adjusted they started out of the classroom.

"Try and stick as close to each other as possible until we get out of the castle, the halls are crowded," Harry said to the others as they started walking.

They made their way down the third and second floor into the main hall of the castle without much trouble. On the main floor it was a bit trickier and they found themselves having to dodge a few groups of students as they made their way towards the main gate. At one point they were even forced to hide in a hall's corner for a few minutes while a pair of first year Hufflepuffs were kicking a magical hacky sack around as they walked down the hallway. Eventually though, even with the slow progress they were able to make their way out of the main gate and onto the grounds.

"Harry, I think we should enter the forest over there," Hermione whispered, pointing under the cloak towards Hagrid's hut. "If Hagrid went out looking for the unicorns and whatever killed them he probably left a trail we could follow."

Following Hermione's orders they headed over to Hagrid's hut. There was no smoke coming out of the chimney and no lights were on in the hut so it appeared Hagrid was still in the forest looking for whatever was killing the unicorns.

"We should keep the cloak on in the forest as well; just to be on the safe side," Harry whispered. The other two nodded their heads. The group left the area around Hagrid's hut and made their way into the forbidden forest.

They entered the forest around noon, so outside of the forest it was still a very sunny day. However, inside the forest thanks to the thick canopy of leaves overhead not much light made it through. Just as Hermione had said there might be, there was a clear trail of the half giant's footprints leading into the forest. Slowly the three of them followed the footprint trail deeper into the forest.

Outside of a few crows and squirrels the trio saw no signs of life, monsters, or dead unicorns anywhere. After the first time one of them had stepped onto a twig and loudly snapped it resulting in Hermione screaming, she had decided to walk the rest of the way in the middle of them with her hand firmly placed over her mouth. Even with the silencing spell over them she did not want to risk it. Honestly Harry was playing brave in front of Hermione; the forest gave off quite the eerie aura that made the hair on your neck stand up.

After about thirty minutes of walking Hagrid's trail turned sharply to the left. The group decided to make it easier to find their way back that they should keep following Marik's compass straight north so they just had to head straight south to get back. After about another thirty minutes of walking they finally stumbled onto something.

In the distance there was a giant beast looking thing; way too large to be Hagrid standing next to a hooded figure in a black cloak. The hooded figure was bending over a large white unicorn that lay dead on the ground. Harry and the others all made eye contact with each other and Harry signaled for them to be dead still and dead quiet.

Due to the distance between them and the two figures it was impossible to see exactly what was happening but after a few minutes the hooded figure stood up and stepped away from the unicorn and made its way to the larger figure. Harry could hear the hooded figure say something and then both of them started walking towards the same direction that they had just arrived from. Standing dead still the group waited as the two distant figures came closer.

As the two figures approached it became quite clear that they were not looking at simply just any two figures, they were looking at a large mountain troll walking next to something much smaller. The odd way that the troll was walking, along with its blank facial expressions it appeared as if the troll was being controlled rather than moving on its own accord. Trolls were known to be extremely aggressive creatures to anything but themselves, so the fact that it was not eating the figure next to it told Harry something strange was going on.

The troll and the hooded figure were now close enough where their group under the cloak was able to fully see and try to make out. As they got closer he felt Hermione squirming under the cloak, he turned his head to see her eyes wide. He looked at what her eyes were fixed on.

Under the hood of the cloaked figure was none other than Professor Quirrell! What was he doing out here? And what was he doing so close to a Mountain Troll? And what was he doing with the unicorn?

A thousand questions popped into his head at the sight. Hermione's body was shaking like crazy as they continued to stand there waiting for the troll and Quirrell to move on. Time moved slowly and the dark aura of the forest felt heavier and darker as they waited for the troll and Quirrell to walk away. Even when the two figures were fully out of sight the trio stood planted for another good ten minutes just to play it safe. Finally when the coast was clear they broke the silence.

"WHAT THE HELL DID WE JUST SEE!" Hermione whispered frantically. "What was Quirrell doing out here with a troll!" she continued asking and shaking.

"I have no clue, but something seems very wrong with it all," Marik added.

"Do you think that was the monster killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.

"I guess it could be," Hermione added. "But why would it be walking with Quirrell like that? Surely if Hagrid came out here with a crossbow to kill the thing Quirrell would have just killed it," Hermione asked.

"Maybe he is going to use it for some upper level defense class or something," Marik suggested.

"That's a little dangerous don't you think? Mountain trolls are extremely dangerous creatures, and almost impossible to control. There is no way Dumbledore would allow one in the school. I don't even know how Quirrell was able to control it," Hermione said to them.

"What was he doing with the unicorn do you think?" Harry asked.

"Probably the same thing we are. I mean, I thought he might be drinking it for a second but there was no blood anywhere on him or his face. We read that drinking the blood turns the drinker's teeth silver and their eyes red. Quirrell's face looked completely normal," Marik added.

"This all makes zero sense; I don't like this at all," Hermione said through chattering teeth.

"Yeah me either, but let's go to the unicorn. We need to get what we came for and maybe we will find some clues or something there. Let's play it safe and go quick though, I don't want to take any more risks. We should probably keep the talking to a minimum too," Harry said. The other two nodded.

They made their way over to where the unicorn was and he noted the wounds definitely looked like something a mountain troll's club would have caused. Harry noticed Hermione shed a few tears as she looked at the unicorn.

"It's okay Hermione, like you said we will give it a proper goodbye." He tried to sound as sincere as he could. He wrapped Hermione into a hug and the three of them just stood there for a few moments.

"I'm okay, thanks Harry. I knew what we were coming out here for and that eventually we would see a dead creature, I just feel sad for the poor thing. I hope that troll really was the monster and Quirrell really was getting rid of it," Hermione said as she wiped her tears.

"Us too Hermione, now let's get going," Marik said taking off his pack. As bad as it may have felt this is what they had come out here for. Harry knew this was how the world worked, it was just the circle of life. It was sad that the unicorn had died, but its magic would continue through all of the incredible things they would be able to use it for.

Harry went to the unicorn's tail and collected as many of its hairs as he could into all of the boxes he had brought. After he had filled them up with more hair than they could ever actually use he went on to help Hermione whose hands were still shaking. The both of them filled up vial after vial and flask after flask full of the silvery blood until they had filled up every vial that they had brought.

Marik during all of this had been slowly sawing off the unicorn's horn which looked to be a little longer than three feet long and about five inches thick at its base. After he finished, they all packed their bags and set forth giving the unicorn a proper burial, like Hermione had requested for them to do. Marik cast a digging spell to create a hole large enough for Harry to levitate the unicorn into. They then buried it and marked the grave with a few stones they found nearby.

"Guys can we make a promise," Hermione said again fighting tears as they all stood around the grave.

"What promise is that Hermione?" Harry asked as he wrapped an arm around her.

"That we waste nothing we collected today, and in respect for the magic it provided us with today we return the favor to the world in its honor. And that one of the first things we look to do when we have the opportunity is look for a way to help unicorns and other defenseless creatures like this. Even if it is just something small; I want to do something," Hermione said, seeming to come back to her usual determined self.

"We promise," both he and Marik said at the same time.

"Cheers to Goonie the Uni! May she gallop across endless meadows of magic! May she neigh forever with her unicorn brothers and sisters! May her magic in the next world forever flow brighter than her mane did in this! May she rest in peace!" Marik said sincerely with maybe just a tinge of humor to lighten the mood.

"Rest in peace," he and Hermione both said at the same time.

Hermione started to giggle for a few seconds before she broke out into full scale laughter accompanied by tears. Harry didn't know what was happening at first but he found himself joining her after a few seconds. Marik joined in shortly after. The three of them stood there dying laughing under the cloak next to the grave until their sides started to hurt and they finally calmed down.

" _Goonie_ the _Uni_? Really? Marik you have no soul," Hermione said through her last few giggles and tears.

"What? It rhymed! Plus unicorns are supposed to be creatures that bring happiness and joy to people so I figured it would like to be remembered that way!" Marik responded.

"Well I think even a unicorn would be unhappy at a name like _Goonie_. That's almost as dumb as Marik," Hermione joked sarcastically to Marik, who responded but sticking out his tongue.

"Well she will be missed whatever her name was. And like we promised we will do our best in the future to find a way to make a difference. For now though, let's get back. There is no telling what we might find on our way back after what we found on our way here," Harry said.

The three of them said their final goodbyes and lifted their now much heavier packs over their shoulders. Luckily Hermione had been Hermione and did bring books, because none of them had thought far enough ahead to learn a feather light charm. They might not have made it back if Hermione had not found the spell in a book.

Luckily unlike their journey into the forest their journey outside the forest was much less dramatic. No professors and no trolls this time. As they made their way out of the forest they could see Hagrid's hut now had lights on in the inside and the chimney was smoking. Hagrid was on his front steps putting dressings on what looked to be pretty nasty wound on his shoulder.

"Should we tell him what we saw?" Hermione whispered before they left the edge of the forest.

"No, then he would know we were out in the forest and it would have all been for nothing. We would lose everything we collected, all the magic would go to waste, and we would probably be expelled," Harry answered her. At the word expelled Hermione zipped her lips.

"Well I want to figure out why Quirrell was out there, and why he had a troll with him. Me and Hermione I work with Quirrell alone a few times each week and if he is up to something we need to know," Marik started. "I have a plan, do you guys trust me?" Marik finished. He and Hermione nodded.

"Okay, well let's walk around to the edge of the castle over there before we take the cloak off. That way it looks like we are just walking the grounds around the castle. Don't say anything unless you have too, let me do the talking. If he or anyone asks we were just about to head in for dinner okay?" Marik asked. They both nodded again.

They left the edge of the forest and made their way around the castle walls until they were out of sight from Hagrid along with any other possible eyes before taking off the cloak.

"Okay, follow me," Marik said to them. They followed Marik around the bend of the castle and approached Hagrid's hut.

"Hey Professor Hagrid! Beautiful day outside isn't it? I bet your mandrakes are loving this sun!" Marik said sounding completely like a different person.

"Oi, hi there Mr. Ose you snuck up on me der! Haven't seen you down here since you got lost your first day, how ya been?" Hagrid asked, turning his injured arm away from them.

"I've been good, Professor Hagrid, thanks for asking. What happened to your arm? Did the troll do that to you?" Marik asked and Harry and Hermione's eyes both went wide with shock. What was he doing? He and Hermione were apparently wrong in saying they trusted him.

"Oh I'll be fine tis is nuffin. . . Wait troll? What d'you mean was't a troll?" Hagrid asked, looking suddenly very concerned.

"We were walking around the grounds looking for pumpkins to carve, it's a muggle tradition for Halloween," Marik said with a face that looked about as fake as his story. "Anyways, we saw Quirrell at the edge of the forest with a big mountain troll. We were too far away and honestly _much_ too frightened to ask him what was going on. We figured you and him caught it in the forest for some dark arts project he was doing. Why else would he be bringing it towards the school?" Marik asked in his most innocent voice.

Harry was speechless. In the flick of a wand Marik had turned into a completely different polite person that had just said probably one of the craziest things Hagrid ever heard and made it sound completely innocent.

"HE WAS BRIGIN' IT WHERE?" Hagrid bolted up and grabbed his crossbow from inside his hut. "YOU THREE ARE T'GO 'NTO MY HUT, LOCK TE DOOR 'N YOU DO NOT COME OUT 'NTIL I COME BAC' AND GET YA. UNDERSTOOD?" Hagrid yelled at them with panic and fury.

"Yes professor, of course," Marik said again in his polite voice. Hagrid went running off into the school. The three of them listened to Hagrid and went into his hut and locked the door.

"What the hell were you thinking, Marik?" Harry blurted out as soon as they got inside and locked the door.

"What? I don't think that could have gone any better actually," Marik answered, looking accomplished.

"How did that go good to you? We are now stuck in here for who knows how long with this stuff in our pack, each second out here with it increases our odds of being caught!" Harry argued.

" _First_ , if someone opens our bags all they will see is the normal bag. That's why they call it an _undetectable_ extension charm.

 _Second_ , our professor was walking in the woods with a full grown mountain troll. If it is just for an innocent assignment or lesson than we will now know and Hagrid will come back out here saying it is all under control. If it was not so innocent, not only now are the teachers aware but we are probably a little bit safer for it. We couldn't just go into the castle acting like nothing happened. We would be checking every corner making sure a troll wasn't around it and skipping dark arts class out of fear until we failed," Marik replied. As much as it bothered Harry he did have a point.

"It was a stupid plan, Marik, risking everything like that. You are right though. Chances are if Quirrell really did bring that thing towards the school that a lot of people could get really hurt, or end up like Goon. . ." Hermione paused for a second. " like the unicorn."

"We should all shrink our bags and put them into our pockets. Odds are someone might want to question us on what we saw. Harry, you should do the same with your cloak, shrink it and hide it in your bag," Hermione said to them.

"Right. We should get our stories on the same page then too," He added. The group spent the next few minutes shrinking all of their bags and stuffing them into their pockets. They then all went over a full day's story that would cover any question that Hermione could think that they might ask. They agreed, regrettably, that Marik was the best at doing the talking so if they were questioned they would let him do the majority of it.

"So where are we going to brew the potion?" Harry asked breaking the silence while they waited.

"Snape already said we could use one of his potions labs," Marik said calmly as he looked out the window towards the castle.

"You told _Snape_ about the potion?" Harry asked furiously!

"You guys honestly need to learn to put a little more faith in me." Marik rolled his eyes. "No I did not tell Snape about _the_ potion I told him that I would need somewhere to work on my end of year project assignment. He agreed to let me use one of his labs. I am a Slytherin, you know that right?" Marik answered sarcastically.

"Oh, well okay," Harry said, feeling slightly bad for accusing Marik.

"It's not like at this point the potion will be a secret either. When Hermione turns the potion in at the end of the year I think it will pretty clear what potion we were brewing. If it's still a secret then Hermione probably won't be getting a very good grade," Marik said to them.

"Yeah you are right. What are we going to tell them when they ask where I got the supplies to make the potion?" Hermione asked Marik and him.

"That you bought them, Hermione. They won't ask. They will be impressed with the perfect advanced potion you brewed, and give you a ' _M_ ' grade. They aren't going to look into how you got every ingredient. If they did that with every project they would be able to grade like one project a year," Marik responded.

"So what do you think Hagr…" Harry started to ask but as he got halfway through his sentence the roof of Hagrid's hut came crashing in. Harry was sent flying onto the grass outside the hut. Much like when Marik's _stupefy_ spell hit him his world had gone completely black for a few seconds and his ears were ringing like crazy.

After a few moments of just lying there on the ground his eyes slowly started to adjust, and his ears stopped ringing.

"What the hell was that!" he groaned as he sat up. On the other side of the hut, where he had been a few moments ago, stood the mountain troll they had seen only a little while earlier in the forest. It had clubbed Hagrid's hut in half.

Harry frantically looked around for Hermione and Marik. He found Hermione about two feet away from the hut running towards him. Thankfully she looked uninjured.

 _Thank Merlin._ He thought to himself as he saw her running towards him. The troll must have missed her. He tried to get to his feet so that he could look for Marik. He reached out his arms to brace himself as he sat up but only his right arm came forward. His left arm was dangling from the shoulder and he was unable to move it. It definitely was dislocated and from the pain he was feeling in forearm it was probably broken too.

"HAARRYY!" Hermione screamed his name as she ran up to him and jumped into him giving him a hug.

"OWWW!" he yelled as she hit his arm.

"Oh I'm so sorry Harry I didn't know, I was just happy you were alive!" Hermione said looking at his arm crying.

"Hermione, where is Marik! We need to find him! The troll is still right there!" Harry shouted.

"Marik is fine, Harry he is over there." Hermione pointed at the troll. Marik much like Hermione had seemed to avoid the troll's club. Outside of his clothes being covered in dirt he looked fine. Well maybe not fine. Marik currently was running towards them throwing spells over his shoulder, each one of which was just bouncing off the troll.

"Guy's we. . . have. . ." Marik started to say as he ran out of breath from running. "Stop it!" Marik shouted.

"Harry, can you cast spells?" Hermione asked him sounding brave and confident suddenly.

"Yeah my wand hand is good," Harry answered. He was in a lot of pain at the moment but he would be in a lot more pain if they didn't stop the troll that was currently heading towards them.

"Any ideas?" Marik asked the two of them.

"Stunners won't work, the troll's hide is too thick," Hermione shouted from their left.

"Marik throw an _incarcerous_ at its feet and try and trip it up. Hermione send an _incendio_ as powerful as you can at its club. Okay?" Harry ordered and started to look around for any more ideas.

"Right!" They two of them responded. As the troll started slowly running towards them they went on the offensive.

" _Incarcerous!_ " Marik shouted. Tons of ropes shot forth from Marik's wand at intense speeds and started coiling themselves around the troll's ankles.

" _Incendio_!" Hermione screamed out. A flaming jet of fire shot out of her wand and lit the troll's wooden club on fire. Her spell unfortunately was so intense that trickles of flame fell onto the ropes Marik had summoned and began licking at the troll's wrapped ankles.

The troll didn't know what to think. Its eyes were darting between its flaming club and its burning ankles not knowing which was a bigger problem and which problem it should solve first. This was their chance.

" _Wingardium leviosa!"_ He cast the levitation spell on one of the largest boulders he could find, finally settling on the one that Hagrid used as a chair right next to the smashed hut.

The boulder floated straight up as he lifted his wand. He would have to focus all of his power to make this work, especially being currently handicapped. As the troll continued to be distracted by his flaming predicament he brought the boulder over to where the three of them were standing.

"On three I want you both to cast a full-powered _deprimo_ spell at the boulder okay?" he ordered the other two. They both nodded. "One…" He lined the boulder up head level with the troll. "Two… Three!" he shouted out.

" _Deprimo!"_ they all said in unison. He dropped the boulder in midair and the three of them in unison cast the wind-push spell with all of their combined power. The boulder shot forward like a bullet just as the troll broke loose from the flaming ropes around its ankles.

When the boulder collided with the troll's head it never slowed down or altered its path. Instead as the troll's head exploded into a red mist the boulder flew what he guessed was a thousand feet into the forest. The troll fell were it had stood. Dead.

"WHAT DO YOU THREE FOOLS THINK YOU ARE DOING!" The three of them turned, wands raised, from the headless troll at the sound of the shout. They could see all of the professors, noticeably excluding Quirrell, standing behind them. McGonagall had been the one yelling at them. "Do you have any idea how dangerous a fully grown mountain troll is! The three of you could be wizard jelly right now! I hope you…" McGonagall said in a fury, before she was interrupted.

"I am sure these three are fully aware how dangerous a fully grown mountain troll is Minerva… Seeing as _they_ just defeated one. It looks like they had no other choice but to defend themselves judging from the state of Hagrid's hut," Professor Dumbledore said to McGonagall who still seemed about to pop.

" 'Arry your arm looks broken, is 'nyone else hurt?" Hagrid asked the trio.

"No sir, we are fine," Marik and Hermione answered in unison.

"You are anything but _fine_ Mr. Ose and Miss…" McGonagall started again. She always was an overprotective parent when it came to the safety of her students.

"Minerva please, would you be so kind and escort Mr. Ose and Miss Granger back to their dorms where we can be sure they are safe?" Dumbledore said to the transfiguration professor.

"Yes Albus, of course. Come with me!" McGonagall ordered Hermione and Marik.

"Excuse me. Professor Snape?" Hermione asked before McGonagall took them into the castle.

"Yes… Miss Granger," Snape said in his usual insulted sounding tone.

"This may just be the inner Ravenclaw in me talking so I apologize if I'm overstepping, but I could not help but notice the silver blood and hair on the trolls club. It is unicorn hair and blood. I only ask because I know how rare it is but would you mind if I took some samples of it? I am making a potion for my end of year potion's project that has a much better and effective alternate version if brewed with unicorn blood and hair," Hermione asked the professor.

If Harry had not been in front of all the professors his jaw would have dropped. Hermione Granger had just put on a show that made Marik's people skills look like nothing. Harry looked at the club and sure enough the parts of the club that had not been burned were covered in silver blood and unicorn hairs. If Snape said yes there was the alibi for how she got the supplies that Hermione was so nervous about.

"Filius, never in my day did I think I would say this but I am impressed. Fifty-five points to Ravenclaw. Mr. Ose I am disappointed in you especially. Letting a Ravenclaw catch something that you failed to observe. And you too Potter. Your mother was a great potions brewer, you should be more observant.

"The both of you should take notes from Miss Granger here. Yes Miss Granger you can take some samples, such a valuable ingredient should not be wasted. Feel free as well to use one of my potions labs to brew your potion," Snape said to Hermione with almost a smile on his face, if you could call it that. Harry's mind was blown.

Hermione apparently had charmed her bag back to its original size before the professors had noticed or showed up and retrieved a few of the empty vials they had left empty along with another small box. After she had collected her samples she ran and gave him a quick hug before Professor Snape walked her back to her house's dorm, interested to hear more about her potion. Professor McGonagall escorted Marik back to his. The rest of the professors followed their lead, leaving Harry alone with the Headmaster.

"Harry, I hope you do not mind if an old man like me escorts you to the hospital wing?" Dumbledore asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"Of course not, sir," Harry said with a smile. The pain in his arm was growing and forcing a smile up was hard. He followed alongside Dumbledore towards the front gate.

"Harry, I'm afraid before Madam Pomfrey can give you some sleeping potions for your pain we must talk," Dumbledore started to say.

"That's fine sir. About what though if you don't mind me asking?" Harry asked interested in what the Headmaster wanted to talk about. This had been the first time he had spoken to the Headmaster alone. Maybe his father had been right when he said Dumbledore might come apologizing.

"Am I to assume correctly that your parents told you the story of what happened the night Voldemort attacked you and your family?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Yes sir, but only a little. They just told me he died that night from his own killing curse," Harry answered wondering where this was going.

"Yes Harry, well that story is only half right I am afraid." Dumbledore looked sad as he spoke. The pair of them made their way through the front gate.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean sir?" Harry asked, curiously.

"You are correct when you say that Voldemort cast the killing curse on you. However, tonight has proven that you would be wrong in saying that Voldemort died that night."

"What? Voldemort is alive? But how?" Harry quickly asked. He couldn't believe what Dumbledore was saying.

"Yes Harry, Voldemort is still alive. Although, I'm not sure _alive_ is exactly what I would call it."

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Harry asked confused as they made their way further into the castle and turned towards the hospital wing.

"I'm afraid right now I don't have all the answers but it seems Voldemort found a way to avoid death before that night at your house. It seems at some point he invaded Professor Quirrell's body like a virus, possessing him and feeding off of his host to survive.

"From what Hagrid has told me of what he has seen in his searches of the forest it seems that he was using the troll in the forest to kill unicorns so that he would not be cursed, and was drinking the unicorns' blood to survive. It appears that you and your friends were the troll's curse." Dumbledore finished the last part with a smile in Harry's direction.

"Why would he come to Hogwarts though, sir? Why wouldn't he just stay in the forest or go somewhere else to gain strength and survive?" Harry asked the Headmaster, still not fully registering what he was being told.

"As to that I have only theories, Harry. Hogwarts was always the only home Voldemort ever had, so a part of me thinks he will be always be drawn to it. More of me thinks though he was after one of two things." Dumbledore paused.

"What two things, sir?" They made their way to the doors of the hospital wing and Dumbledore stopped.

"Harry what I tell you next I need you to promise me that you will keep it between the four of us," Dumbledore asked, as the twinkle in his eye returned.

"Four of us? I don't get it, sir."

"I can only assume that whatever words are said here tonight will most certainly be shared with Miss Granger and Mr. Ose. Which they should be. Friendship and love are a wizard's most powerful possessions. I only ask that outside of them, you tell no one else, understood?" Dumbledore asked him. His offer seemed fair and honest enough. He was right. Harry probably would share all of this with his friends.

"Yes sir, I promise," Harry answered.

"The first thing he may have been offer I must admit is my fault. A good friend of mine named Nicolas Flamel asked me over the summer to look after his most prized discovery," Dumbledore started. Harry did not recognize the name.

"What was that sir?" Harry asked.

"Nicolas Flamel was the alchemist who made the discovery of the Philosopher's Stone. Have you ever heard of it?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

"No sir."

"The Philosopher's Stone is also known by another name; The Elixir of Life. It carries magical properties that can extend the holders life to seemingly infinite years. As well whatever the stone touches turns to pure gold. It is quite a powerful magical artifact, dangerous in the wrong hands.

"Luckily for the past six-hundred years it has been in the hands of the Flamel family who is one of the few pure families left in our world. Nicolas and his wife after all these years have come to terms and peace with their life so they asked me over the summer to take custody of the stone until I decided what was best to do with it.

"At first I had it stored in a vault at Gringotts but after receiving a tip of a planned break in at the bank I had the stone brought here to the castle. I must apologize that the wizard and alchemist in me wished to keep the stone around to experiment with and do research on. However during the first week of this month thankfully I came to my senses and decided that no good could come from having the stone at Hogwarts.

"I destroyed the stone at once. However I believe one of the main reasons Voldemort chose to inhabit Quirrell's body was because somehow he discovered the stone was here at Hogwarts. With the stone and its power Voldemort would have the ability to gain his old strength and power back. Which I'm sure you can understand would be a very dangerous thing." Dumbledore paused again.

"And what is the second theory you have sir?" he asked the Headmaster, still processing Dumbledore's first theory.

"You," was all Dumbledore said in response.

"Me? I don't understand, sir."

"No doubt you have over the years come to understand, Harry, that to many you are the defeater of the dark lord. You are the reason it is safe to go out at night. To many people, Harry, you are the beacon of hope and their light in the darkness. If Voldemort wants to gain back his power, and extinguish any hope as he did during his initial rise to power he would need to eliminate the biggest thing that inspired that hope."

"Me…" Harry still could not believe what he was hearing

"Yes Harry. It would not surprise me if Voldemort's main mission here was to seek you out and kill you. Thankfully we were able to stop him before this happened."

"Stop him? Quirrell is dead?" Harry asked.

"I'm sad to say so, Harry. Professor Quirrell was a good teacher, and a better man. I wished he could have been saved, but Voldemort's infection of him had been much too deep I'm afraid." Dumbledore looked sad as he said it.

"My friends… I'm not supposed to say anything. But they had been receiving private lessons from Quirrell even before they met me. Do you think it was Voldemort teaching them?" Harry asked. His mind was still a blur at the moment.

"No Harry. I believe that Professor Quirrell was very much himself when he was teaching classes and working with your friends. Although, I must admit I am unsure of the magic Voldemort was using. From what I know about spells similar is that only one mind can be in control of a body at a time. From Voldemort needing unicorn blood to survive I am certain that he would not have the strength to maintain control over Professor Quirrell constantly, but instead only in bursts.

"Quirrell was a good man like I said Harry, I am sure when Voldemort was gathering strength Quirrell was very much himself, and unaware of the demon within."

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking why are you telling me all of this?" Harry asked the Headmaster.

"Because you need to know, Harry. Voldemort is very much alive and one day may find a way back to his full strength. As one of his possible targets you should always be prepared. I hope what I have told you today will add some motivation for you to want to push your studies to learn as much as you can to defend yourself with. Although from what I hear from your professors I am not sure you need much more motivation." The twinkle was back in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Yes sir. Thank you for telling me all of this. It means a lot. And I will do my best to make sure I'm ready if Voldemort does try anything ever again," Harry replied confidently.

"I hope so Harry. For now though you should get some rest. Your parents are on their way, and if I know anything about your mother I think you will want to be asleep when she arrives." Dumbledore winked as he finished talking.

"Thank you sir," Harry said and headed into the hospital wing.

Harry made his way into the hospital wing again for the second time that month. He would make sure to apologize to Madam Pomfrey for breaking the promise to her that he had made. As soon as he walked in Madam Pomfrey set about fixing his arm and his other cuts in a fury. She eventually gave him a sleeping potion that immediately began to take effect. As his eyes got heavy he tried to soak in everything that had happened along with Dumbledore's words.

He would have a long day tomorrow explaining this all to Hermione and Marik, or maybe he shouldn't tell them. He did not want to worry them. Hermione would have them researching all the books that mentioned Voldemort and Marik wouldn't stop making them practice every spell he could find. Harry was happy the way things were right now, he did not want anything to change and risk losing his friends. He would think things over later, for now he was too tired to think anymore. Another yawn came as his mind raced, and soon a deep sleep followed.

* * *

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	8. Book1: Chapter 8

**Marik**

As he looked at the clock in the potions lab again for probably the thousandth time that afternoon, Marik noted that only a little more than a minute had passed since the last time he had checked. He had been beyond anxious for the day to go by as quickly as possible so that he could finally put his plan into action. Based on the time though he unfortunately still had a little longer to wait before he could get started; so again he returned back to the many books scattered across the table.

Marik had been one of the few students to remain at Hogwarts over the Christmas break. Other than a few exchange students who chose not go back home, and some seventh years that had way too much work to get done had remained. He had hoped he, Hermione, and Harry could use the free time over the break to get a lot of stuff done together but unfortunately that plan had ended before it even started.

Hermione's family spent every holiday and summer season in France, where they had a vacation house in Paris, so Hermione had no choice but to go back home over the break. Harry had tried valiantly to stay over the break with Marik and work on finishing his end of year projects, but after his mother had sent the third howler Harry decided that it would be best for his health if he went home.

At first Marik's own parents had been against him staying at Hogwarts over the break. This was most likely due to the fact that he had been, somewhat, slacking on writing them any letters throughout the year so far and they were overly anxious to hear all that had happened at Hogwarts so far. Luckily for Marik though his father got called to the U.S. for work just a day before the break began so in the end they had allowed Marik to stay at Hogwarts over the break. So for the past week over the break he had been pretty much alone in the now much quieter Hogwarts castle.

Since the break had started he spent the majority of his time doing all of his homework, research, and practice in the potions lab that Snape had let Hermione use. Hermione had started brewing the _animarevealo_ _potion_ a few days after their 'adventure' into the forbidden forest and 'run-in' with Quirrell's mountain troll. So far everything with brewing the potion had surprisingly been going rather smoothly. He and Harry had been there for every step of the brewing process with Hermione and she had tried to explain the entire thing to the both of them as they assisted her. After the first few days though they both gave up pretending to understand and just sat back and let Hermione do her thing. While He and Harry were both some of the top first year students in potions, at least in Gryffindor and Slytherin, Hermione was at a whole other level when it came to brewing.

Before she left for home, Hermione had directed him that all he needed to while she was gone was just give the potion two counterclockwise stirs each day along with one droplet of the unicorn blood while it sat over a small flame. So even though it only took a few minutes each day to work on the potion, Marik had remained in the dungeon's potion lab to do most of his work.

It was by far the quietest part of the castle. The silence made it much easier to focus when there were no distractions or other students nearby like there sometimes was in the library. Plus the candle and torch light provided a relaxing mood to the room which he had grown used to over the weeks of using the room. More importantly than setting a good mood though, Marik liked the dark potions room because it had finally given him two great ideas for the remainder of his end of year projects.

In the first week of November, when the trio had started brewing the _animarevealo potion_ , the three of them had all also been looking into what they could possibly do with the rest of the unicorn resources they had gathered. In the end they had collected enough unicorn blood and hair to be set on any project they could think of for probably the rest of their lives. The problem had just been thinking of a project to use the resources on.

Harry for the most part had been pretty set on just saving his set of the supplies for the future in case he found something interesting to do with them. Harry had made it clear so far that he was mainly just interested in using the potion to find out if he was an _animagus_ like his father.

Marik certainly was excited to find out if he was an _animagus_ too, and was already counting down the days until they would get to test the _animarevealo potion_ out. Since he didn't know if his birth parents were magical or not, there was the possibility he could have a decent chance at being an _animagus_. However, he also knew that really regardless of your family's magical status the chances of anyone being an _animagus_ were slim to none.

Marik was just as anxious as Harry to drink the potion, but he certainly wasn't as patient as Harry was with his portion of the unicorn resources. He had been wanted to do something with his portion of the resources then and there. He felt like it was too much magic to just keep in storage waiting for an idea that may never come. He wanted to do something with it now.

For pretty much the entire month of November Marik had set about trying to find something to use his resources for. It took the entire month of November and almost all of December until he finally had a breakthrough; a breakthrough that _finally_ happened on the first day of the holiday break.

He had been in there potions lab, much like he was doing now, just randomly reading a magical artifacts book. It was in that book where he found his first idea. In the Egyptian Magical Museum of History, located in Cairo, there was an ancient set of robes that had been weaved by the Pharaoh wizard Unas.

The robes were not put on display because they were weaved beautifully with a combination of bright gold and purple Egyptian silks. Yes the robes were ancient and beautiful but what made them so historical was that the Pharaoh Unas was the first witch or wizard to ever weave acromantula silk alongside with the Egyptian silks.

With the two different silks combined, the robes were able to contain within them much more magic than the normal robes of the day. The acromantula silk provided a boost to the wearer's shields and could provide some defense towards any spells that hit the wearer's robes. Unas perfected the art of robe weaving and was able to arm himself and his warriors with robes similar to this set which helped them maintain power for more years than many of his predecessors had.

To simply put it, that article had inspired Marik. He immediately had started doing more research on wizarding robes, weaving, materials, and everything that might help him create a set of magical robes like Unas had.

The more he researched the more he knew that he wanted to find some way to use the unicorn hair he had collected to create a set of robes that would be unique to him alone. From his research he learned that if you had the money there were a few advanced robes shops that would sell robes similar to the kind Unas invented. There was a famous robe store in Berlin, Germany that had battle robes that contained pieces of troll skin sewn into vital spots, which were used by aurors for a bit of extra defense, and another shop in Paris, France that used Veela hair in their robes; which apparently enhanced the beauty of the witch or wizard wearing the robes.

Outside of those shops though, due to the rarity and prices that a number of magical resources held, there were not many examples of magical robes available in the wizarding world that he could find. There was not even a magical robe shop like those in Britain.

Since coming up with the idea and beginning his research he had been practicing weaving every day. Never in his life did he imagine that he would not only be at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, but that instead of casting brilliant magical spells, that he would be getting blisters on his fingers from trying to learn to weave. If only his parents could see him now. His mother would be so proud and give him all of her personal supplies to help and barrage him with an endless array of questions and updates, his father would probably just make some sexist remarks. Needless to say he would not be adding this part to any letters home.

He had chosen to keep his new robe-weaving project he a secret from Hermione and Harry. Even though they shared all of their notes, ideas, research, and projects with each other he decided it would be more fun to impress them with the final end product at the end of the year. Plus he still wasn't entirely sure it would be successful at the rate his weaving was going.

The base material for his robes he had already decided on was going to be black dyed Norwegian sheep's wool. As a muggle before he ever knew he was a wizard he had seen sheep his entire life and never would have guessed in a million years that a sheep was a magical creature.

It was true though. Sheep's wool held magical properties, and depending on the breed of sheep the magical properties varied. A sheep's ability to regrow its wool coat actually could be utilized if enchanted and woven correctly to keep its magical properties in the final woven product.

Most magical clothing was made with sheep's wool, so this was a fairly common place to start. There was also ample amount of information available on weaving with sheep's wool, which would help him make the set of robes much easier. By using sheep's wool in his robes hypothetically if he did everything right his robes would be able to regenerate and repair any damages that they took over time.

Through more research he found that most magical clothing in Britain was made from Scottish sheep's wool. However some of the more expensive shops around the country used other types of wool, which provided different or stronger magical properties. His choice in using the Norwegian sheep's wool was based on his findings that the wool provided better heating and cooling due to the weather the Norwegian sheep are raised in.

As well, the Norwegian sheep wool is also much thinner and finer than the Scottish sheep's wool, which means it requires more of the magical wool to make a piece of clothing resulting in there being more magic altogether in the clothing in the end.

Along with the sheep's wool he was going to interweave some of the unicorn hair that he had collected. Unicorn hair by itself contains ample amounts of magical energy stored inside it. That's one of the reasons he discovered that it was used in the cores of wands.

An object that holds a lot of magic can have that magic withdrawn from it for extra power, or have magic stored inside of it for a number of different uses. By infusing them in the robes, his was making his hopes were that while he was not casting magic that his body would store some of his own magic into the robes. By storing his magic into the robes if spells hit the robes the stored magic would provide somewhat of a shield for him, as well if he was in a lengthy duel or fight with a troll and his magic was running low, he would be able to withdraw some extra juice from the robes. At least, this was what he hoped would be the result. Whether it actually worked or not was still up in the air.

For the last idea on his robes he actually had the dangerous, dark, and deadly dementors of Azkaban to thank. He had been looking up magical creatures to see if he could find any other easily accessible resources to use in his robes to make them even better. It was here he found the chapter on dementors. While there was no way he was going to be able to use anything from a dementor in his robes, and he honestly wasn't sure you could even harvest anything from a dementor, he had been given the idea from the robes a dementor's figure took the form of.

A dementor's robes were almost like smoke it seemed like from what he read. One of the many reasons people feared dementors, outside from the obvious soul sucking capabilities, was that dementors could move anywhere that smoke could. They had the ability to slip between cracks in doors, or open windows, anything that had enough space for air to come through a Dementor could come through. Marik knew that since he had a physical body going through door cracks and open windows was impossible, but the intimidating smoke-like effect that Dementor's robe appearance gave off was one that he very realistically could do.

He wanted his robes to give off the appearance of an almost dementor-like smoke material. When he ran or moved he was hoping his movement would resemble the similar gliding movement of a dementor and his robes would flow around him like smoke.

Coming from a muggle family had not provided a lot of advantages in the magical world, but if he had learned one thing from reading all of his muggle books like Lord of the Rings, a warrior's armor played just as much of a role in battle as his sword did. Marik wanted to have the intimidation that dementors and the Witch-King of Agnar had over their enemies and opponents. While he wasn't looking to conquer middle earth or suck people's souls out, in a duel every advantage he could get meant something. So since he had one the Hogwarts dueling tournament and would be going into the European Magic Students Dueling Championship that summer he wanted all the advantages he could get, and he thought an intimidating set of battle robes would certainly do the trick. Plus he would look badass in them, and who didn't want that.

So again he had continued doing research until he found a material that would give him the best chance of producing the dementor-like effect. The material Marik needed to give him the best chance to produce the smoke effect he was looking to achieve could be harvested from the tail hairs of a thestral, which luckily he discovered could be found at Hogwarts.

Marik had made a trip down to Hagrid's hut, or what was left of it, to see if the care of magical creatures professor knew anything about thestrals that might help him out. After offering to help Hagrid work on rebuilding his hut for an hour in an attempt to butter the half-giant up Hagrid had returned the favor by showing Marik to the thestral pen. After he gave his many thanks to Hagrid, Marik gathered as many tail hairs as the thestrals and Hagrid would allow him to.

From what little he read on thestrals, Marik had expected them to be aggressive intimidating creatures. They ended up being quite the opposite though. They were surprisingly beautiful, majestic, and peaceful creatures, much like a horse in the muggle world were.

Hagrid told him if he took care of magical creatures in his seventh year he would get the chance to learn to ride one. Marik had made a mental note to make sure he took the class when the chance came around. Having made a next day delivery order to a shop in Norway for the sheep's wool, getting all the unicorn hair from the forbidden forest, and the thestral hair from Hagrid, Marik had all the supplies he needed for his robes.

So now that he had all the materials he would need in possession all he needed to get started was to just practice weaving until he was good enough to actually make the robes. He had been weaving and weaving nonstop all week long over the break, only taking breaks to read for a bit and rest his hands. His technique and skill had improved a lot since he first started but thestral hair was extremely brittle, so he would have to be close to perfect on the final product if he wanted to make it work and not waste all of his supplies.

He had chosen to use gnome and bear hair to practice with since the bear hair was about as strong and thin as the sheep's wool and the gnome hair was about as brittle as the thestral hair. Altogether he was beginning to get excited with his progress. However, today his excitement was mainly focused on something outside of the robes.

His second idea for an end of year project had come to him earlier today. Marik had just finished his breakfast at The Great Hall and stirring Hermione's potion in their lab when he decided to take a much needed break.

He had pulled an all-nighter the previous night and his eyes had started to ache from reading too much. And weaving today was out of the question as his fingers were covered in blisters and swollen from all of the weaving practice. He decided to take his break by lying down for a few minutes on the nearby couch.

Immediately, as it always did, his mind began to wonder as he lay there. He started thinking about all of his end of year projects. Now with his robes idea, which he figured he could use for both his dark arts and charm's project if done correctly. All he had left was his spell creation's project. So for a while he had laid there trying to come up with another idea as good as the one he had come up with for his robes.

He had been staring up at the mounted wall candle overhead watching the shadows jump along the wall when the idea struck him. Immediately he had bolted to the library and had begun searching for any book that might possibly help. After spending all day at their table in the library reading, his research had led him to finding two specific books, both of which were in the restricted section and out of his reach. That was his dilemma at the moment and that was why he was still staring at the clock every thirty seconds waiting.

His idea somewhat played off of his robe idea. If his robes resembled smoke, darkness, and a shadow why couldn't he make magic that did the same. He could not remember if the image that popped into his head had come from a dream or a movie, but his idea was to create a type of magic or a spell that could control the dark or shadows. If he had the ability to manipulate a shadow or control the darkness itself he could perform the spells almost anywhere there was a light casting a shadow or any place that was dark.

Hundreds of ideas from that point on started flowing into his head one after another. The first thing he had to figure out would be where to start. The simplest place he could think of was finding out how to create a spell that would allow him to move a shadow, almost like doing a shadow puppet with your hand in a light, just without your hand. While moving a shadow on a wall would be only useful for a party trick it was a good foundation for expanding into a plethora of other areas.

One of those areas he imagined was being able to make a shadow three-dimensional. By doing that you could make the shadow of a hand reach out and grab your opponent, or even have his own shadow fight along with him, literally by his side. He imagined being able to warp into a shadow or the darkness and appear somewhere connected. He could even try to find a way to manipulate the dark to make his opponent unable to see during a duel, while allowing him to see perfectly.

He even already had a few ideas for some offensive spells. One of the ideas was to create something similar to the kamehameha from the muggle anime _Dragonball._ From what he remembered from watching the show growing up the kamehameha was an energy attack that not only drew power from the user but also from the world around them. So what if he could draw the darkness or shadows in the world around him into himself and then cast them out of his wand or hands in an energy blast of darkness similarly. His intimidation level in a duel would be incredible with his badass dementor-like smoke robes and casting spells that worked with the dark or shadows.

All of these great ideas would be impossible however unless he got the two books he needed from the restricted section. The books were _A Book of Spells_ by Vincent Remillius and _Secrets of The Dark_ by Nex V. Kurcarrin. Even though the books both had no information on what he was actually trying to do, from what all of his research had told him these two books would provide the needed information on the properties and elements of the dark that he would need in order to learn how to create spells that used and manipulated the dark and shadows. Along with this, both books had information on the creation of other dark arts spells that would help give him a path to take in his creation plan.

Madam Pince wouldn't tell him why the books were in the restricted section only that he could not look through them because they were restricted. Regardless of whether they were restricted or not he _had_ to read them. His readings on all the non-restricted books he found had given him some ideas on where to start in creating the basis for the spells and magic, but he needed more information. So after exhausting all of the non-restricted research material he could find, he had decided to plan a way to get to the restricted books, luckily, thanks to Harry the solution was pretty easy.

Harry had left him the invisibility cloak over the holiday break since he was too scared that his mother might discover and confiscate the cloak if he brought it home. Marik had not planned to actually use the cloak at all over the break but figured Harry would not mind if he put it to a little good use. So in the end Marik's plan was pretty straightforward, hide under the cloak, go to library, get the books, bring them back to his room, and don't get caught.

 _Simple enough_ , He thought to himself. Marik looked at the clock again. It was at last just about time to finally begin his plan.

Marik pulled the invisibility cloak out of his pocket and readied himself. Since it was the holidays the castle would not have as many professors as usual walking the halls after curfew, but there could still be a few professors that he might have to avoid. With that in mind he threw the cloak over himself, cast a silencing and de-smell charm on the cloak and himself, and headed out into the dungeon's halls.

The castle was intensely eerie and quiet after curfew, especially with a majority of the castle's occupants currently gone. The candles that normally lined the halls of the dungeon before curfew had all been put out and only blackness remained in their places. If he had not known the many paths of the dungeons and walked this route hundreds of times he could have easily gotten lost wandering until morning. Luckily though tonight he didn't.

When he made it up the dungeon stairs to the first floor seeing became a lot easier thanks to the silver moonlight peering in through the windows. He scanned the hall ahead of him to see if there was any movement from a professor but the coast seemed to be clear enough. Walking slowly and crouched down he continued towards the library as quietly as he could. Luck seemed to be on his side that night as he met no encounters with a professor on the first floor either. However, he lost a little bit of his luck though when he made it to the library's entrance stairs.

The well-known Hogwarts prankster ghost Peeves was sitting right in the doorway to the library looking like he was asleep. Marik was unsure if ghosts actually slept or not. Not knowing what to do he just stood still for a few minutes at the bottom of the stairs unsure of what his plan going forward, was now.

As good as Harry's cloak seemed to be he was unsure if a ghost would be able to see through it or not. He did not know if he wanted to take that risk or not. After a while though he was too anxious to get on with his mission that he came to the conclusion that doing something in order to get past the ghost was a necessary risk that he just had to take.

The smartest plan he could think of was just hitting the suit of armor next to him with his wand, hoping that the sound would be loud enough to wake and move Peeves without alerting the whole castle or any patrolling professors. However luck seemed to return to him as a loud noise from somewhere down the opposite side of the hall emerged right as he almost hit the suit of armor.

"Who is there! Is that you, Baron?" Peeves floated up into the air quickly looking scared. That was all the space that Marik needed. Crawling up the last few steps he made it under Peeve's hovering legs and through the archway.

The library, much like the rest of the castle he had seen so far that night was void of any teachers and the usual presence of Madam Pince behind the main counter. Unsure of what the noise down the hall had been and knowing that at some point one of the teachers walking the halls would likely make a trip to check out the library his best bet was to keep everything done in the library under the cloak and move quickly.

Entering deeper into the library, he made his way through the numerous bookshelves and towards the entrance of the restricted section of the library. The usual roped off entrance was the only boundary besides a clear line of dust dividing the two sections of the library apart.

" _Revealio,"_ Marik whispered the spell on the entrance's rope to make sure there were no charms or hidden spells waiting for someone to activate them. With his spell revealing nothing he carefully stepped over the rope and made his way into the restricted section. As his feet touched the dustier side of the library he stood planted for a few seconds making sure nothing had happened and that no spells had been triggered. The coast seemed to be clear though so he continued forwards.

Since there was no way madam Pince would have told him where to find the books, along with the fact that she would not even let him in this part of the library, he would just have to search manually for the books by author. Luckily the entire restricted section was only about the same size as the non-restricted charms section, so he would not have to spend the whole night looking… Hopefully.

Wanting to avoid any noise that attempting to use a summoning spell on the books might cause, he started his search manually going row by row. He started his search by trying to find the ' _K_ ' section. When he found the section he started looking through the author's whose names started with ' _K_ ', it only took a few minutes of searching before he found the first book _Secrets of The Dark._

The book was located right next to _1,000 Days and ways of Torture,_ a book which Marik could fully understand why it may be restricted off the title alone. The _Secrets of The Dark_ book was an extremely heavy book that was covered in a thick layer of dust. He blew the dust off of the cover and was thankful that the two books he was looking did not contain any curses or charms like a few of the other restricted books that had shown up in his research were.

" _Reducere_ ," he whispered the shrinking spell at the book resulting in it contracting to about the size of a matchbook. He placed the now smaller book in his pants pocket. _One down one to go._ He thought to himself.

After he finished putting the first book into his pocket he made his way around the bookshelves until he found the ' _R_ ' author's section. After another few minutes of looking for the book he found it almost fully drowned in dust on the bottom shelf. He picked up _A Book of Spells_ which was also next to another appropriately restricted book entitled _Music That Murders_.

" _Reducere,"_ he again whispered the shrinking spell on the second book and added it to his pocket. "Mission accomplished," he said to himself.

With the two books now in his possession he just had to make his way back to his room and he was in the clear. Readying himself he started back towards the restricted section's entrance rope, that is until he saw some movement to his right. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone making their way down the aisle of books next to the one he had just been searching. Moving as slowly and quietly as he could he made his way around the shelves' corner to see which professor it was. His eyes had earlier adjusted to the darkness of the library and hallways but for a split second he thought they may be playing tricks on him.

There just a few feet in front of him looking through books on the bottom of the shelves was not a professor but was none other than his _favorite_ person at Hogwarts Daphne Black. His curiosity immediately took over his desire to get back to his room.

 _What was she doing here? I could have sworn she already went home for the break._ He thought to himself. He slowly inched his way closer to see what she might be looking at, or for. He peered over her shoulder from a few feet back trying to catch a glance at the book Daphne had taken off the shelf. The book's title was _Moste Potente Potions._ The words on the book's pages were barely visible in the small amounts of light that Daphne had illuminating from her wand tip. Daphne was flipping through the pages looking it seemed for something specific. After turning through over a hundred pages she finally stopped and began reading. The title of the chapter she had stopped on was labeled _The Polyjuice Potion_.

He had never heard of the _polyjuice_ _potion_ before; most likely because it was in a dusty book at the bottom of a shelf in the restricted section. He delayed leaving back to his room a little longer wanting to see if he could find out a little more about what the potion was and why Daphne of all people might be looking at it.

The answer to his second question seemed simple enough looking at the ingredients list. The potion required almost as many ingredients as Hermione's _animarevealo potion_ did. A student like Daphne, who was set on being in the top of their year, surely would come to the conclusion just as he, Hermione, and Harry had that a potion this complex would certainly help in getting a Master mark for an end of year project. Skimming over Daphne's shoulder lower down the page he read the potion's description.

 _Polyjuice Potion is a potion that allows the drinker to assume the form of someone else. It is a complicated and challenging potion that even adult witches and wizards struggle to brew correctly. The potion is incredibly advanced and has two separate parts that contain steps for each part, when brewing is complete the potion has to stew for a month before usage._

 _The only known brewers of the potion currently are Ministry Potion Officials. While the polyjuice potion is not illegal to brew it is illegal for the potion to be sold, as stated under Ministry of Magic decree 13H-214aa. The Board of European Potions Brewers has rated this potion's difficulty level at a 6/10._

The description of the potion confirmed a majority of his suspicions. A potion that had a description that warned the maker that it was _incredibly advanced_ would put Daphne in a good position to be up for a Master ranking in potions. He couldn't help though but wonder if Daphne had an alternate objective in mind outside of just getting a good mark though, looking at a potion with benefits like this. Being able to assume the form of anyone you wanted would have a number of benefits and potential uses.

Marik knew Daphne was a shark when it came to magic and school. It was because of this that the two of them had become in shortest terms rivals. Daphne had made it clear to the other first years in many ways just like he had that she was looking to dominate in their year and classes. Their biggest difference was that while he tended to ignore everyone outside of Hermione and Harry and couldn't care less about the other Slytherins, for Daphne if you were not in her corner or stood in her way than you were an enemy. As a result of this the majority of first year Slytherins had started following Daphne, and as a result Marik was enemy number one.

Their rivalry was only intensified by the fact that they shared the same house. Marik couldn't care less about the house he was in to be honest. For him being a Slytherin basically only meant that he had to sleep in the dungeons. He was a little competitive when it came to house points, but his house competition was mainly just between earning more points than Hermione and Harry did for their houses to get bragging rights.

For Daphne though it was all about being a _true Slytherin_ , whatever that was, and proving that she was the best first year. So in Daphne's mission to become the sole figurehead for their year in Slytherin she had made his life pretty difficult. He was fine letting Daphne take the title as the figurehead of their house, but he was not about to let someone take his title of the best first year.

Daphne continued to scribble notes about the _polyjuice potion_ down on her pad. Unfortunately for Marik, as curious as he was and as much as he wanted to know if she was only looking up this potion for an end of the year project he could not let his curiosity with her end up ruining all he had accomplished tonight. Backing away slowly and quietly from Daphne he made his way back over the restricted section's entrance rope and headed back towards his room.

As he snuck back to the Slytherin common room he couldn't help but think about what Daphne was up too. While he did not know Daphne that well at all, from what he knew about how seriously she took her classes she was most likely just looking for a potion that would give her top marks for an end of year project.

Just in case though he would keep an even closer eye on Daphne from this point on. His way back down to the dungeons had been even less eventful thankfully than his trip to the library earlier had been. He made his way to the Slytherin common room and his room safely without trouble. Once he was safe and sound in his room he set about finishing up for the night.

After returning the books he had collected to their normal sizes he charmed their covers to resemble his normal charms and dark arts books, just in case anyone came snooping. Before he forgot any of the details that took place in the library with Daphne he wrote a quick letter to Harry, who unfortunately was kind of related in a weird way to Daphne, about what he had seen in the library. Maybe Harry would be able to ask around Daphne's family and see if they knew anything.

After he finished the letter and placed his books away it was time for some well-deserved sleep. Tomorrow and the rest of the holiday break his undivided attention would be on spending half of each day practicing his weaving, and the other half inventing his new magic.

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	9. Book1: Chapter 9

**Harry**

The endless stream of falling white snow outside was enchanting, especially set against the mosaic of ice crystals that had formed overnight on his bedroom window. The view from his bed was mesmerizing and he was finding it rather difficult to gather the energy to get out of bed, which normally was never a problem on Christmas morning.

He didn't seem to be the only one finding it difficult to wake up that morning though. Hedwig was still snoring over on her perch and had not moved a feather from the position she had fallen asleep in last night.

"Ugghhh!" he groaned out into his room as he forced himself to sit up in his bed. His history of magic books and notes were still all scattered around his bed and it appeared he had fallen asleep mid chapter in the book titled _Werewolf rebellions of the Iron Age_.

Last night had been another late night of reading and research, a routine that had become more the norm than anything over the past month. Even if the school called the Holiday break a break there certainly was not enough time in the year for him to actually take a break from his work. Not only did he have seven classes worth of readings and research to keep up with but he also had seven classes worth of end of year projects to work on, and in two of those classes he still had not even come up with an idea for a project yet.

He wasn't the only one pulling late nights and working overtime though. He knew for a fact based on the countless streams of letters from Hermione and Marik since the break had started that they both were working equally as hard. The entire trio had kicked themselves into the next gear at the start of December as the first signs of the end of the school year felt like they were creeping closer.

Even though there was still much to be done today no school work, spell, practice, potion brewing, or research would be happening. Today was Christmas, and today was the one day both he and Hermione were allowing themselves to take a day off. And needless to say Harry was very excited about that.

As per tradition the morning would be spent with his parents, exchanging gifts and just spending some time together. He could already even smell his mother's famous Christmas morning breakfast being made downstairs. After some quality time with the family the Black family and Remus would all be coming over for lunch as they always did and more gift exchanging and family time would take place like usual for the rest of the day.

This Christmas day tradition is what over the years had made Christmas his favorite Holiday. Nothing made him happier than getting time to spend with the family and friends and the Holiday spirit only elevated things. Sure holidays like Halloween were fun and all but nothing compared to the excitement and joy he got out of Christmas. And today he was even more excited than usual.

After a little bit of begging and a constant barraging of letter writing he and Hermione had been able to convince both of their parents to let Hermione and her family come over today. The plan was for the Grangers to portkey over a little before dinner time and then they everyone was going to go to Diagon Alley to watch the Christmas day festival.

It had only been a little over a week since he had last seen Hermione and Marik at Hogwarts, but even in just that short amount of time he had already grown home-sick. He had grown used to the routine of eating all of his meals with them and spending practically his entire day with them. He didn't like the quiet sound of his room and the lonely feeling he got staying up late alone.

As sad as that sounded he didn't care. He was beyond thrilled that he was going to get to see Hermione today. And to add to that this would be the both of their first times ever seeing the Christmas day festival at Diagon Alley. So you could say that his anticipation for today was very high.

"Ughhh!" he groaned out again as he forced himself to get off of his bed. He stretched out the kinks and cobwebs that had formed overnight and made his way across the room over to Hedwig's cage. "Good morning girl." He sprinkled some of Hedwig's food into the cage and grinned as the owl quickly woke up only long enough to scarf down the food before returning back to sleep. Guess she was taking a break from work today too.

He quickly threw on a pair of jeans and one of his favorite sweaters before heading down stairs. The aroma of his mother's cooking grew stronger as he made his way down the stairs, making it difficult to not drool.

"Well goodmorning their Harry. We thought you might sleep in all day," his mother greeted him with a kiss on the forehead as he entered the kitchen. He couldn't help but smile as he saw his mother was still continuing the tradition of wearing the _World's best mother_ apron on Christmas morning that he had made for her for Christmas when he was three.

"Good morning mother, morning father. Sorry I was up late reading again." He returned the greeting and made a straight line for the tea.

"What were we up late reading this night?" his father asked him, his mouth already full with French toast.

"Stuff for my history of magic end of year project on the history of werewolves. It is the most simple out of all my projects so far so I'm trying to get as much of it done now as I can," he answered. He poured himself a large cup of tea and grabbed his usual chair next to his father.

"How is your progress going on it? Here," his mother asked him and set a plate down in front of him. As per the usual the plate was piled high with French toast, eggs, bacon and fruit. No matter how good the food at Hogwarts was it still couldn't compete with his mother's breakfast.

"It's going good. The books Remus leant me are helping out a lot. After last night I think I'm about halfway through my project now. Did you know that the last Minister of Magic in Belgium was a werewolf? He was in power for eight years before anyone found out," he replied, stuffing a large piece of bacon into his mouth after dipping it into some nearby syrup.

"I didn't know that no. Well don't work yourself too hard, Harry dear, you still have plenty of time to get all of your work done. I don't think I ever finished a project before April at least during my time at Hogwarts," his mother said as she sat down next to her and started digging into her own plate.

"I won't I promise. I'm taking today off anyways," he replied.

"Well I would certainly hope so," his father said, laughing a little. "Sometimes I wonder if we took the wrong kid home from the hospital. I don't think I started on any of my end of year projects until at least May, and I certainly would not have done any work over the breaks."

"You're such a good influence, James," his mother said. A smile on her face as she sarcastically rolled her eyes.

"Well Harry needs someone to show him what not to do. Right Harry?" his father joked.

"Right father," he replied half-heartedly.

"So you excited to open presents?" his mother asked.

"I am. I'm more excited about going to the festival tonight though," he answered honestly.

"You're just excited because your girlfriend is coming over," his father added. Thankfully Harry wasn't drinking any of his tea at that moment or he would've for sure done a spit take.

"She is not my girlfriend! She is just my friend!" he shouted his argument back.

"Whatever you say Harry!" his father said, a wide grin on his face.

"I'm excited to meet her. From what you have told us she sounds like quite the witch," his mother added.

"She really is. She told me last night in her letter that she was starting research on advanced spell creation theory which isn't even taught until second year!" Harry explained. He returned back to the last pieces of French toast on his plate and failed to take note of the smile exchanged between his parents.

"Well it's five after ten already so what do you say we get this show on the road?" his father asked him, looking at his watch.

Harry quickly finished the last of his breakfast and topped off his tea before bolting to the living room where he grabbed the closest seat next to the fireplace. His parents both joined him around the tree and took their usual spots on the floor next to him.

"Alright why don't you start us off, Harry? Hmm. . . This is a good one," his mother said, handing him a small present that was from his mother. He tore the wrapping off of the paper revealing a small about a foot long. As he opened the box he could see three elaborate looking quills inside.

"They are spell-checking quills. Normal ones can only hold an enchantment for about ten-thousand words or so but these ones should hold you for at least a hundred-thousand words each," his mother explained as he looked the quills over.

"I didn't even know these existed! Thanks mother, this is great. I will have to rewrite my history of magic project with these now, Merlin knows my spelling is awful," he replied, looking the quills over one more time before setting the box down beside him. "Here mother, this one is from me." He grabbed one of the presents he had gifted for his parents. He watched on as his mother opened the present, his fingers crossed that she would like it.

"Ooh this is fancy, Harry, thank you," his mother said as she took the enchanted leather briefcase he had bought from Gladrags Wizardwear out of the box.

"Father told me the strap on your old one broke so I thought maybe it was time of a new one. This one has the same storage enchantment on it like your old one did and an anti-open lock enchantment on it so that only you should be able to open it." Harry was hopeful his mother actually did like it, shopping for his mother was always tough.

"I love it, Harry. So this is why you wouldn't let me buy a new bag, James," his mother said to his father, still looking the bag over.

"I had to pull her out of the store three different times, Harry," his father said laughing. "Here Harry." Harry took the next gift from his father and started opening it up. It was easy to tell from the size and weight of the package that it was probably a book and Harry was excited to see what book it was. The book was thick and titled _Transformation Through the Ages._

"I've heard about this one. Is this the one you and Sirius were telling me about a while back?" Harry asked his father.

"Yeah, that's the one. It's actually a pretty tough book to find but it's definitely a have-to-read for any aspiring transfiguration student. It's about the evolution of Transfiguration magic. Should help go into detail about a lot areas that most books kind of skim over," his father explained.

"This is awesome! I just about have burned through every transfiguration book I have right now so this is perfect. Thank you." It took all the willpower in him to not open the book then and there to start reading.

"You're welcome son. Hmm. . .which one next." His father went over to the tree and pulled out another box for Harry.

All together this Christmas was already turning out to be a great one. His mother loved the briefcase he had gifted her and had already started transferring her work materials over to it. His father, who was always fairly easy to shop for, loved the new work boots and jacket that he and his mother had bought for him as well. Harry had made out quite well too in the gift department; leaving with a few new books, spell-checking quills, a few shirts and jeans, and a large supply of accessories and treats for Hedwig.

"So are you happy with all of your presents this year, Harry?" his mother asked him as she banished away all of the wrapping paper.

"I am, mother, thank you again. I'm struggling to decide which book I want to read first though." He was currently skimming through _A Guide to Medieval Sorcery._

"Well you have plenty of time to decide later, if you could go get all of our gifts for the Blacks and Remus out of our room now and put them under the tree that would be a big help. They should be flooing in any minute now," his mother said and headed into the kitchen.

Harry took all of his presents upstairs to his room and grabbed the large pile of boxes in his parents' room to bring downstairs. He could hear the loud rush of fire echo throughout the house from the fireplace, letting him know that everyone was starting to arrive. Loud conversation filled the air as he made his way back into the living room and he could see that all of the Blacks were here and Remus was with them.

"Merry Christmas Remus!" he said, greeting his 'uncle.'

"Merry Christmas Harry! It's good to see you. How was this year's haul?" Remus asked him as he embraced Harry in a hug.

"I made out pretty well this year. And father loved the pair of boots you told me he would like, so thanks for helping me with those."

"Well I'm glad he did. Here add this to your pile." Remus handed him a box.

"Thank you Remus. Here, this one is for you," he replied, handing Remus the present that he had bought for him.

Harry opened up the package Remus had gifted him excited to see what it was. Remus always gave really good gifts that Harry could always use. The gift was about ten medium sized scrolls, all of which had detailed pictures, graphs, and calculations drawn all over. Harry had no clue what any of the writings or markings were of.

"Thank you for the gift galleons to The Hog's Head, Harry. Do you have any idea what that is?" Remus asked Harry as he looked over the scrolls.

"No, I have no clue what I am looking at here," Harry answered honestly, trying to look the scrolls over and make some sense of them.

"It is a moon chart. I did a lot of work standardizing them and researching them when I was an assistant at the ministry. Your mother told me about the astronomy end of year project you are working on and I figured it might help or be something you could add in," Remus explained.

"This is amazing, Remus! I never thought about doing something like that. I actually just finished the orbital cycle of our solar system last week. I could add a moon chart like this into the viewer so that the moon followed its proper cycle during projections too. Maybe I could even add details about the moon phases' effects into it," Harry replied, unable to hide his excitement at the gift. Hundreds of new ideas were coming to mind already. This moon chart would certainly help out with his project and make his idea even better.

"I'm glad you like it, Harry," Remus said with a smile.

"There you are, Harry! Come give your favorite uncle a hug!" Sirius shouted from the other side of the living room.

"I just did though," Harry shouted back, earning some laughs from Remus and his father. Harry made his way across the room to where Sirius and Hemera were standing and gave both of them a hug.

"This is from Hemera and me, we hope you like it," Sirius said with a smile, handing him a gift.

"Thank you both," Harry replied, handing Hemera the gift he and he had bought for her and Sirius.

"Is this a spell dummy?" Harry asked as he opened the gift and looked the present over. Inside the box was a small wooden doll holding a wand outwards.

"It is. We got Daphne one too for her birthday and she said it helped her out a lot so we figured you might get some use out of one too," Sirius answered.

"You can use practically any spell on it and it will repair itself. Just stay away from fire spells and you should be good," Hemera added with a smile.

"Thank you both! A boy in my dorm actually has one of these and I've always wanted to try it out," Harry replied, excited to get back to school and test it out.

"Merry Christmas Harry!" Alina, his cousin and Daphne's younger sister greeted him.

"Merry Christmas Alina. Here this is for you! And Merry Christmas Daphne, this one is for you." He took the gifts he bought for Alina and Daphne off the pile and handed them to his cousins.

"This one is for you. It's from me and Daphne," Alina replied, handing him a gift in exchange. Harry had a hard time imagining Daphne buying him a present for him and imagined that Alina had probably done most the work getting the gift.

"Alright I'm so hungry I could eat a Hippogriff let's get this lunch started!" Sirius shouted after all the gifts and pleasantries had been exchanged.

His father and Remus transfigured the table in the kitchen to grow four times in length and his mother with the help of Hemera conjured a bunch of extra chairs for everyone. Slowly everyone filled into the kitchen and grabbed a seat around the table. Harry just sat back and enjoyed the show during lunch. It was always entertaining whenever the _marauders_ were in the same room and during holidays, especially when a little bit of firewhiskey had been added to their eggnog.

"Lily, remind me, how did the story of you and James third year Christmas start off again?" Sirius asked, stealing the bottle of firewhiskey from Harry's father.

"That was the year James blew up her cauldron in the lab when he was trying to do work on that spell creation enchantment remember," Remus interjected.

"I didn't blow up her cauldron! I blew up the desk, don't make me sound worse than I was!" his father tried to defend herself.

"Yeah, and the cauldron blew up when it fell to the ground due to the lack of desk! I ended up getting second in potions that year because I had to start all over again!" his mother added, rolling her eyes at his father.

"That was the year I got first in potions," Hemera joked across the table with a grin.

"Harry, your mother was so mad at your father that she transfigured him into a Christmas cap and levitated him to the top of the tree in the Great Hall," Sirius said, laughing through the entire story.

"He ended up stuck there for a whole day before Dumbledore heard him singing Christmas carols up there at dinner," Remus added, joining in on the laughter. Harry couldn't help but join in too their stories were always too much.

"I have a hard time believing mother would do a prank like that," Harry said.

"Your mother was the queen of pranks, Harry. Where do you think we learned everything from?" Sirius joked.

"Man that was a bad Christmas. You will never understand how uncomfortable sitting on top of a tree for fifteen hours is," his father said, looking in pain at the memory.

The rest of lunch was filled with even more stories and laughter. Harry counted three different times where his sides had started to hurt from laughter. He stuffed himself with as much food as he possibly could until he reached his limit.

After helping his mother with the dishes he made his way to back to the living room, where he could spend the next few hours stuck in a chair reading. Painfully full he quickly made his way up to his room to grab the book he had been reading last night and grabbed a seat in his favorite recliner by the fire.

"What are you reading?" someone asked him after a few minutes of silent reading. Harry looked up to see that Daphne had made her way into the living room and was laying down on the couch near him, a book open on her lap.

" _Werewolf rebellions of the Iron Age._ How about you?" Harry asked, surprised that Daphne was talking to him. Daphne and he were close enough to make small talk because of their family relationship and what not, but over the years Daphne had tended to only really talk to him out of obligation or when forced to.

" _Advanced Potion-Making._ Why are you reading a book on werewolf rebellions?" Daphne asked him.

"That's what I'm doing my history of magic end of year project on. I'm presenting a paper on the timeline of werewolves in wizarding history," Harry answered, somewhat curious to get Daphne's opinion on his project.

"Interesting. Is Remus helping you at all?" Daphne asked, not sounding like she thought it was interesting at all.

"Yeah, he has been a big help so far."

"That was a good idea for a project. I'm still struggling on coming up with a history of magic project," Daphne replied, and returned her nose back into her book.

"Yeah, I was struggling for a while with it too. Hey Daphne, can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want too," Harry asked.

"Sure," Daphne answered, her attention still on her book.

"Are you brewing a _polyjuice potion_?" he asked her, getting straight to the point. Marik had written to Harry two days back telling him all about everything he had seen in the restricted section of the library. Harry was just as curious as Marik had been to find out if and why Daphne was looking into the advanced potion.

"How did you?" Daphne shouted, sitting up quickly on the couch and shooting him an icy glare.

"Marik saw you in the restricted section two days ago looking up the potion. I didn't know you were staying at the castle for part of the holiday break either," he answered, prepared for her at any moment to hit him based off the way she was glaring.

"Yeah, I stayed there for a while longer to get some extra work done before I came home. I didn't see Marik in the restricted section when I was there! What was he doing there?" Daphne asked, her gaze still a scary one.

"He was under a delusionment charm so it would have been tough to see him," Harry lied. "And from what he told me he was there looking at a book too," Harry answered. He actually wasn't entirely sure what book Marik was looking for in the restricted section.

"That freaking idiot," Daphne said, not making any effort to hide the obvious venom in her voice directed at Marik.

"Well?" Harry asked, wanting to get an answer to his question.

"You are not allowed to tell anyone else. Marik either! I don't want people copying my end of year project. Got it?" Daphne answered, and added some intimidation to her glare.

"We won't tell anyone, don't worry. That's a tough potion from what it sounded like. Have you actually started brewing it yet?" He asked, interested to know her progress.

"No I haven't yet. I'm waiting until after the break. It takes constant attention and there are steps every day of the process. I'll hex you and Marik by the way if either one of you guys tries to copy my project idea," Daphne answered. Harry fully believed that she was telling was the truth about hexing them.

"Don't worry we won't copy you. I doubt me and Marik could even brew a potion like that at this point anyways," Harry replied truthfully.

"Potion like what?" Alina asked as she made her way into the living room, a large piece of bread still in her hands. She pushed her sister's feet on the couch and opened up a book of her own as she sat down.

"Nothing," Daphne said bluntly, signaling that their conversation was over.

"You're no fun, Daphne. So Harry your dad was telling me that you came in second place at the dueling tournament back in October. Is that true? I know how he stretches the details sometimes," Alina asked him. Harry couldn't agree with her more about his father. Everything he said you had to think about for an extra second to make sure it was actually true.

"Yeah, I did," he answered her.

"That's amazing! I heard Daphne got creamed even before the semi-finals," Alina said smugly, putting emphasis on her words to poke at Daphne.

"Shut up Alina!" Daphne shouted angrily, obviously annoyed.

"She didn't get creamed, Alina. She actually had the most dominant first round out of everyone in our year. She casted a _confundus_ spell so powerful that her opponent cast an _expelliarmus_ spell on himself," Harry replied honestly. Daphne's first round really had been extremely dominant.

"A _confundus_ spell. . . What is that one? I haven't heard of it before," Alina asked them.

"It's a confusion charm. It confuses your opponent when hit," Daphne answered before he could.

"Woah! I didn't know you could cast that spell, Daphne!" Alina said, looking impressed at her sister.

"Hmpf," was all Daphne replied with.

"So who beat her?" Alina asked, looking curious to know more.

"Alina stop!" Daphne groaned out, again sounding annoyed.

"My friend named Marik did, and to be fair I don't think even many second years could have beat him in that duel. I would have lost before."

"Is this Marik person that good?" Alina asked curiously.

"He is pretty good yeah. But he used a spell that isn't even taught in first or second year to beat Daphne. So it would have been nearly impossible to prepare for it or defend against it," Harry explained.

"What spell is that?" Alina asked again.

" _Incarcerous,_ it's a rope spell that shoots ropes out of the caster's wand and binds their opponent," Daphne answered again before he could.

"Wow that sounds impressive. I've never heard of that spell either," Alina admitted.

"That's because you aren't even a first year, Alina," Daphne responded bluntly.

"So! I will be soon! Did he beat you too with the _incarcerous_ spell, Harry?" Alina asked him.

"No he didn't use it in my duel. He beat me with a _lumos maxima_ combined with a _stupefy._ I was blinded by his first spell so couldn't see the stunner coming at me," he answered, feeling a tinge bit of annoyance now too at the feeling of losing.

"That sounds so cool! I wish I could have come to see the tournament," Alina said looking said that she had missed it.

"Next year you will get to be in it," he replied, giving her a smile.

The rest of the afternoon went by quick enough thankfully. Harry made good progress through his book only having to stop to watch a quick match of wizarding chess between his father and Sirius and make small talk with Alina and Daphne a few times. He found himself constantly watching the clock towards the latter half of the afternoon, anxious for it to be time for Hermione and her family to show up. Thankfully as his impatience level began to reach its peak the loud sound of floo in the fireplace echoed throughout the house.

"Merry Christm. . ." was all he managed to get out before he found himself engulfed in a sea of brown hair.

"Hermione, you are going to suffocate the poor boy if you hug him like that," a woman, who Harry could assume was Hermione's mother said, laughing behind them.

"Sorry Harry. I just missed you! Merry Christmas!" Hermione apologized, her voice filled with excitement.

"Merry Christmas Hermione. I missed you too!" Harry replied honestly.

"Harry dear, don't be rude, introduce us," his mother said, shaking her head at him with a smile.

"Oh right sorry. I am Harry, that is my mother Lily and my father James," he started, pointing at his parents. "That is my uncle Sirius, that is my aunt Hemera, over there on the couch are my cousins Daphne and Alina," he continued, pointing at the Blacks. "And last not but not least is my other uncle Remus. Everyone this is Hermione Granger and. . ." Harry started but realized he didn't actually know the names of Hermione's parents.

"Red and Amelia Granger." Hermione's father saved him and extended his hand out to Harry. Harry took the man's hand in his own and tried his best to give a firm handshake.

"Pleasure to finally get to meet you Harry. Hermione has told us quite the many stories about you," Amelia said as she shook his hand.

"She has?" he started to ask.

"MOM!" Hermione shouted, interrupting him.

"Well come in and get settled. How was your first time flooing? I remember my first time I almost got stuck in my parent's chimney," his father asked Hermione's parents as he ushered them further into the house. The parents all immediately fell into conversation on the other side of the room.

"Here Harry. It's not much but I hope you like it," Hermione said, handing him a small package. Harry took his time to carefully unwrap the present, making sure not to rip the fancy bow Hermione had tied around the box. Inside the box was a crimson and gold scarf, the colors of Gryffindor. At one end of the scarf his name had been embroidered into the material.

"Well?" Hermione asked him after a few moments, she looked nervous as she watched him look it over.

"Did you make this?" he asked her as he continued to look the scarf over.

"Yeah I did. I know its ba. . ." Hermione started.

"It's amazing, Hermione. I can tell you put a lot of time into it. I can feel some magic in it too, did you enchant it?" he asked her, and wrapped the scarf around his neck. It really was a great gift and he really could tell Hermione had put a lot of time and effort into it. He never even knew she knew how to knit.

"Yeah, I added a warming enchantment to it, and thanks, Harry. I'm happy you like it," Hermione replied, a warm smile returning to her face.

"I love it, Hermione. And here, this is for you." He went over to the tree and grabbed the box under it and gave it to Hermione.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Harry," Hermione said as he handed her the box.

"Yes I did. Open it!" he replied, anxious to see what Hermione thought of the gift he had bought for her. Hermione had been the hardest person out of everyone to shop for. He had spent countless hours scouring newspaper advertisements and holiday catalogs from shops in Diagon Alley trying to find something for her. He waited nervously as she slowly opened the box.

"A Luma Lantern. I don't know if I have ever heard of this before," Hermione said as she looked the lantern over.

"I never had before either. They're designed specifically to be used for reading though. The lantern is made with spells and enchantments that are supposed to prevent your eyes from straining and getting headaches. And after you attune yourself to it with your wand it will automatically adjust its light level depending on your energy level, the brightness of the room, and mood of the book. I figured as much as you read it might come in handy," Harry explained, hopeful that it would come in handy for her.

"Harry, this is amazing! This must have cost you a fortune! I feel bad now," Hermione replied, as guilty as her words sounded Harry was happy that her eyes were still glued to the lantern and her face was filled with excitement.

"Don't feel bad. I'm just glad you like it."

"It's incredible. I want to test it out already!" Hermione said, and he was sure if she had brought a book along with her she probably would have settled down on a couch to start reading.

"So Harry, is this your girlfriend?" Alina asked him as soon as he and Hermione sat down on the couch next to her.

"What? NO!" Harry said, his words stuttering out.

"Mhmm. I'm Alina by the way, Daphne's younger sister. Nice to meet you," Alina introduced herself to Hermione.

"Nice to meet you, Alina. I didn't even know Daphne had a younger sister. Is Daphne here?" Hermione asked, her face bright red.

"Yeah, she is. She went upstairs to take a nap a while ago. I should actually probably go get her, looks like we might be leaving soon," Alina said and left them to go upstairs.

"You excited for tonight?" he asked Hermione.

"I'm so excited! I can't even imagine what a wizarding festival is like," Hermione answered.

"From what my parents say it's a lot of food, fireworks, and activities. I really have no idea either though."

"So did you get to ask Daphne about the _polyjuice potion_ at all?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I did and she is brewing it for her end of year project for potions. She and I aren't that close but I highly doubt she has any alternative reasons for brewing the potion. Knowing her she just flipped through a book until she found the toughest one."

"Well that puts a lot more pressure on our potion then. I tried to do some more research on the _polyjuice potion_ but I couldn't find much info on it either. I may have to get Marik to show me where the book was in the restricted section so I can see it for myself," Hermione said.

"I doubt it's tougher than the _animareavelo potion_ and although Daphne is pretty good at brewing potions I still don't think she comes close to your brewing," Harry replied honestly. Daphne was probably the best potions brewer in his class out of the Gryffindors and Slytherins but Hermione was Hermione.

"Thanks Harry," Hermione said.

"You two ready to get going?" his mother asked from behind the couch.

"Yeah!" he and Hermione said in unison.

The both of them made their way into the kitchen where everyone else was already gathered around a large bicycle tire on the table.

"So all you're going to do is hold on to the tire and let go when I shout let go. It's a pretty intense feeling so be prepared. When the spinning slows down just focus on your feet and you be able to stick the landing pretty well," Remus was explaining to the Grangers how portkey transportation worked.

"Alright everyone grab hold," Sirius ordered and everyone in the room crammed in to get a hold on the tire. Harry cursed himself for the blush that came to his cheeks as Hermione's hands touched his on the tire.

"Three, two, one!" Remus counted down and as soon as he hit one the world starting spinning.

Harry's world went into a blur as the familiar feeling of the portkey overcame him. He did his best to focus on the landing as the spinning slowed down. Hermione's parents were both apparently as quick of learners as Hermione was and both stuck the landing perfectly. Alina was the only one out of the group who failed to land smoothly and slid into Daphne's feet as she arrived.

"Woah," he found himself saying as his eyes adjusted and he took note of Diagon Alley.

The entire alley looked like a completely different place than what he was used too. Thousands of lights streamed across the street and along the sides lighting the shops in an array of different brilliant colors. Christmas decorations seemed to be in place at every corner and in every shop window and there had to be at least a hundred decorated Christmas trees lining the street.

At the end of the alley in front of Gringotts was an enormous tree, stretching even higher than the bank itself. The tree was covered in decorations and lights of all shapes and sizes and even had an enchanted train and track wrapped around it like tinsel.

Diagon Alley itself was more crowded than he had ever seen it before. Hundreds of witches and wizards were making their way to the different shops and stalls. Many of the people were wearing Santa hats instead of their normal pointed hats and quite a few had even decorated their robes for the holidays.

"This looks amazing!" Hermione whispered out beside him, apparently in as much awe as he was.

"Alright everyone stick together please. Let's head over to park area and see if we can get some good seats before the light show gets started," his mother said and her and his father led their large group down the crowded path of Diagon Alley.

"Do you see anyone here from school?" he asked Hermione as they walked.

"There are too many people here. I can barely see anything at all," Hermione replied.

The walk to the end of the alley was a slow one between having to cram through the many people and keep someone in their party stopping at a shop's window to look at something on display.

"Father, do you think I could have a little money so that I can get me and Hermione some chocolate dragon eggs from that stall over there for the show?" Harry whispered to his father as he noticed the stall a few feet ahead of them.

"Sure Harry, but make it quick," his father answered and handed him some coins from his pocket.

"Hermione come on!" he shouted, and grabbed her by the hand to pull her with him towards the sweets stall.

"Where are we going, Harry?" Hermione asked from behind him as they made their way.

"To get some sweets for the show," he answered as they arrived in the short line for the stall.

"Chocolate dragon eggs? I've never had one before," Hermione said as she craned her neck to look at the stall.

"They're pretty good. They are made by the same people who make chocolate frogs I'm pretty sure."

"Well well well, even the _famous_ Harry Potter likes the same sweets us non-famous people like I see," a voice said from behind him. Harry turned around to see Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin boy standing in line behind he and Hermione.

"Oh it's Draco. Hermione, this is Draco Malfoy a Slytherin, Draco, this is Hermione Granger, a Ravenclaw," Harry introduced them.

"I know who he is," Hermione said coldly, turning back around to face the front of the line as she did.

"Oh, you to know each other already then?" he asked. He barely even knew Draco. They both shared a lot of their classes together but had never really interacted much before, especially now that Harry only worked with Marik in their classes.

"I dueled him in the tournament remember," Hermione said, her tone full of annoyance.

"Oh that's right I forgot," Harry said, remembering the duel in which Hermione had very easily defeated Draco.

"You got lucky, Granger. I expected a _mudblood_ like you to know her place; I didn't expect you to. . ." Draco started to say.

"Call her that ever again, Draco, I dare you!" Harry said angrily, ready to almost pounce on Draco in a moment's notice.

"Getting a little defensive over your pet aren't we, Potter? I'm just telling it like it is, I should have expected a blood-traitor like you would come to someone, like her's defense," Draco said, sneering.

"Shut up Draco!" Harry shouted.

"Harry, leave him be. He isn't worth it. Look we are at the front of the line," Hermione said, tugging his shirt forward. Harry still angry handed the man behind the stall the payment and collected the bag of chocolates from him.

"See you in school." he heard Draco say from behind them as they left the stall and made their way back to their group.

"Ughh if we were in school I would have blasted him then and there," he said, venting.

"Just ignore him, he is a drama starter. Besides I already blasted him good enough remember?" Hermione said with a grin.

"Yeah you did. Next time use something stronger than an _expelliarmus_ though for me please," Harry said, trying to let his annoyance and anger go.

"I promise I will," Hermione said with a smile.

Once they made it back to their family the walk to the nearby park was a fairly short one. All over the grass families and couples were sitting on blankets waiting for the light show to start. Their group searched and found an open spot on the lawn and set up their blankets.

"Give me one of those chocolates!" Hermione ordered as they sat down on their own blanket. He handed her the bag and watched as she tried them.

"Good?" he asked, hoping that she liked them.

"Very good, thank you for getting them," Hermione answered.

"You two sure you aren't a couple? You look like a couple to me," Alina asked, sitting down on a blanket with Daphne next to them.

"Alina, stop pestering them you are being rude," Daphne said, giving her sister an annoyed look. Harry was happy Daphne had interjected in there. He had been caught off guard by Alina's question and was currently doing his best to hide a blush.

"I was just asking! Fine! I wonder if the show will be longer than last year's," Alina said, pouting a little that she wasn't going to get an answer.

"You've seen it before?" Hermione asked Alina.

"Yup sure have. Dad and mom brought me and Daphne here four years ago and we have made it a tradition ever since," Alina answered.

"That's sweet. I can't wait to see it," Hermione replied, an excited smile lit on her face.

"Well I'm sure they will st. . ." Harry started to say but was interrupted by two streaming bolts of red and green light up into the sky.

All eyes in the park and he was sure back in Diagon Alley were glued to the two streams of light, watching them soar up into the clouds. A loud pop and bang echoed around them as the two lights exploded in the sky, filling the clouds and night sky full of bright beautiful colors.

One after another thousands of lights flew into the sky and erupted into a beautiful display of colors. There were some streams of light that exploded into hundreds of smaller exploding lights of all colors. There were others that exploded into crazy designs and shapes and even one extra-large explosion at the end that formed into a large dragon that whipped itself around the sky.

The show was beautiful. And Harry found it hard not to think this moment would not go down as one of the best moments of his life. With each explosion of color in the sky he could see the smiles of everyone there with him grow. His parents looked like newlyweds on their blanket, embraced in an endless hug as they watched the show take place.

Hemera and Sirius looked just like Harry imagined they did in all the stories he had heard of them back at Hogwarts. Both of them were giggling and laughing to a joke only they knew and seemed to be having the time of their lives. Even Daphne didn't look as cold as normal, as if the explosions had melted away some of that solid icy exterior off of her.

And then there was Hermione. . . With each pop in the sky Hermione's smile seemed to grow bigger and prettier. He couldn't help but wonder looking at her if the small dimple on her left cheek was hurting from all the smiling. She looked like this was the greatest thing she had ever seen before and the sight of her so happy and enjoying the moment so much made him feel. . . something.

"Do you like it?" Hermione asked him in between a few loud pops of light in the sky, interrupting him from his daze and thoughts.

"I'm sorry?" he said, having been too distracted to have made out what she had said.

"Do you like it?" Hermione asked him about the show again before looking up back into the sky.

"No I don't like it. . . I think I love it," he replied as a loud red pop of magic burst over their heads, filling the sky with a beautiful mosaic of magic.

* * *

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	10. Book1: Chapter 10

**Hermione**

"Come on Hermione! How much longer are you going to make us wait!" Harry asked her impatiently.

"For the thousandth time, Harry, just a few more minutes! I will not let you ruin something I have been working on every day since November because you cannot wait a few more measly minutes! You have made it this long a few more minutes won't kill you," Hermione answered in her best McGonagall impression. She honestly could not blame him for being so anxious to test the potion. She had not slept at all the night prior due to her anxiety and excitement.

Today was finally the day that her _animareavelo potion_ would be finished and after all the long nights and hard work that she had put into brewing it she was ecstatic. She was certainly excited to drink the potion to find out if she was an _animagus_ , but honestly she was more excited that when the potion was finally completed that she would be officially finished with all of her end of the year projects.

Knowing how she was though, Hermione knew even when she was finished with all of her projects she would just find something else to work on. She was still excited that at least most of the stress she had been under all year would be gone, at least until the school year was finished and she had to wait to find out her final grades.

The potion for the most part was done and just needed a few more minutes off the burner cooling before it was officially ready. She was proud of her work on the potion. Snape had been by a few times since she had started to check on her progress and had even told her that based off of all the other first year projects he had seen or discussed that hers was by far the most advanced. She still did not know though if Snape knew that Daphne was brewing a _polyjuice potion_ or not.

After the letter Marik had sent her and Harry telling them about what he had seen Daphne researching in the library, Hermione had set about looking into the _polyjuice potion_ as much as she could.

At first finding information on the potion had proved to be rather difficult. However, after asking to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak and getting Marik to show her the book in the restricted section that Daphne had been looking at, she had found all the information she needed on the potion. In the end she had become confident that although the potion was very complex it still was not as difficult or advanced as her _animarevealo potion_ was.

Plus Hermione knew since her potion required rare and difficult to brew ingredients like unicorn hair, and all of the _polyjuice potion's_ ingredients could be found in the supply room. She was confident that the extra challenge her potion presented would give her the edge. From the lack of the trio seeing Daphne much after the holiday break it appeared that brewing the _polyjuice potion_ was absorbing as much of Daphne's time as the _animarevealo potion_ had been absorbing hers.

Regardless of Daphne and her potion, in just a few more minutes Hermione could finally have some free time away from the dungeon lab and would be able to focus her attention on something else. Though what that something else was Hermione had no idea, free time was not something she was used to. Maybe she would just go back and triple check her other projects again.

She could leave the lab today knowing she had probably the best potions end of year project for the first years. With just a few weeks left before they would all have to present their end of year projects Hermione felt confident that she would be going home with at least one ' _M_ ' mark. As much as she wanted to be number one in all of her classes she was realistic enough to know that Harry and Marik were better than her in a few of their other classes.

 _Well not in taking notes or having read as much, but at least better in the practical parts they were._ Hermione thought to herself.

As much as not being the best in everything pained her, she honestly owed her success this year with the _animarevealo potion_ along with the rest of her classes to her two best friends sitting across the table. Although she hated admitting they might get a higher grade or be better in a school subject than she was, both Harry and Marik's drives to have the best projects and best ability ratings were what pushed her to the level she had reached so far. She was okay with being second once or twice if it meant she got to learn and see more magic, and all of their end of year projects were certainly turning out to be amazing magic.

Harry had proven himself over the school year since they had become friends to be quite the skilled wizard, and because of his skill Hermione guessed that he would probably walk away with as many top marks as she would. She was not taking astronomy this year like Harry was, so obviously she could not get a top mark in that class. However, with the success Harry had received from his work on his portable galactic way-viewer she could not imagine anyone beating him out in that class.

In transfiguration Harry had distinguished himself as the clear leader of their year, even as much as Marik denied and hated to admit it. Harry was just a natural when it came to the subject. He even had two end of year project ideas for the course that he could use depending on if he was an _animagus_ or not, both of which were honestly miles better than her project was.

Even his history of magic project on werewolves was really good. It would be a close contest between their two projects in that class, although she honestly thought her project had a slight edge. So maybe if things worked in her favor she could walk away with a history of magic ' _M_ ' mark to go along with potions, but she was still skeptical.

Those two classes were about the only top marks she could realistically hope for she knew. As their first year had progressed the top students of each subject became quite clear. Herbology was about the only subject someone of their trio did not seem to be the best in. Though that was probably because they all seemed to agree that herbology was the least interesting course taught at Hogwarts.

Hermione had learned as the year progressed that charms was one of her better classes. She had proven herself to be one of the top students in their year in the subject and had received a number of compliments and credits from her Head of House for it. However, unlike Marik, she seemed to mainly excel in the non-offensive charms. If she and Marik raced to charm a chair to dance they were even, but if they raced to see who could summon the chair across the room while charming it to catch on fire or something advanced like that Marik was ahead of her. Plus Marik had proved in the dueling tournament along with their practice sessions that he had a natural knack for dueling and charm work and because of that Hermione figured he would most likely end up beating her out in the class.

In the case of their dark arts and spell creation classes, Hermione unfortunately as much as it bugged her had to admit it; she was well behind Marik in the practical areas. Throughout the year she had learned that she did not quite have the imagination required to be a master of spell creation. She was a logical straight forward person and did not have the ability to think creatively like Marik could when it came to that class.

Regardless of her lack of imagination spell creation class was still one of the more interesting ones and had been useful in assisting with learning in all of her other classes just like Marik had said it might be during their trip to Diagon Alley before the school year started. Marik's end of year project for spell creation would probably not only earn him an ' _M_ ' for the class this year, but she honestly thought if he just continued to add on to what he had already accomplished that he would be set for an ' _M_ ' in the class every year moving forward. It was truly inspirational and amazing the magic he had been able to create.

Marik had set off back over the holiday break when she and Harry were at home just looking to create a spell that would be able to move or manipulate a shadow. Being able to create even a spell half as complex as that would be difficult enough to earn a first year a top mark based off of what they had heard of past first year projects, but Marik had been so absorbed in his work that he had ended up going far beyond just moving a shadow.

Over the past few months he had not only accomplished being able to manipulate a shadow with his wand, but had also created a spell that made part of the shadow three-dimensional. As well he had also been able to create a spell that absorbed the darkness of an area and could be used as an offensive spell.

Marik planned on using the three-dimensional shadow spell along with the shadow manipulation spell for his spell creations and charms end of year project and would surely get an ' _M_ ' mark for it. By this point in the year he had managed to produce an entire three-dimensional hand that would emerge from his shadow and could wave, grab onto something, and unfortunately for Harry, slap people.

The offensive spell Marik created he decided to keep just between the three of them so no one knew he was capable of doing it. Since he was planning on using it for his upcoming dueling championship tournament over the summer he did not want any of the other duelists to have time to prepare a defense for it, which Hermione couldn't blame him for.

The offensive spell Marik created was even more impressive than the three-dimensional shadow hand. When Marik cast the spell any darkness in the area around him was sucked into the area right around the tip of his wand, which resulted in the area getting much brighter since all of the darkness was all concentrated in one area.

At the tip of his wand it would start forming into a sphere of dark energy the size of a baseball. From there Marik was able to send the ball of darkness wherever he aimed. The result of impact was much like a _stupefy_ spell. On impact the spell ended up with the victim being sent flying from the force of impact, but instead of being stunned the release of all the concentrated darkness made it almost impossible for them to see anything, although in his tests the force had proved to be enough to knock the victim unconscious more times than not. Again unfortunately for Harry. It was really quite incredible.

So an ' _M_ ' in spell creations for her she had to admit was out of the question. As well, even though Marik would not tell Harry or her what his _top-secret_ dark arts project was, from the amount of time he spent in his room working on it to go with his ability rating in the class; she figured Marik would most likely get the dark arts ' _M_ ' mark too.

Plus Professor Kingsley, since day one of replacing Quirrell as their dark arts professor, had made it very clear to the first years that Marik was his favorite first year. As tough as it was for her to admit Marik and Harry were better than her in some classes and admit to herself that she would not be ranked number one in all of her classes Hermione was still happy for herself and her friends. And more than that she okay losing once or twice if the people that might beat her were her friends.

"Okay it's time!" Hermione announced to her to friends after her watch alarm went off.

"Finally!" Harry shouted from the other side of the lab table.

"What next? How do you know if it is right?" Marik asked.

"Marik, are you doubting my brewing abilities?" She shot Marik an angry glare.

"WHAT!? Of course not Hermione!" Marik said apologetically. Hermione giggled to herself at his reaction.

"Sounded like you were to me," Harry joked.

"I will tell Ron Weasley you have a crush on him if you don't stop joking Harry!" Marik sarcastically threatened. The threat was successful though in getting Harry to shut up.

"We just need to pour three drops on this paper and it will give us readout of the accuracy percentage. Anything less than 93% and the potion becomes too dangerous to drink," Hermione answered.

"Wow 93%! Why so high? Most potions we've done in first year can have a 75% accuracy and still be used. Marik even got a compliment yesterday from Snape when his _wiggenweld potion_ was a 67%," Harry asked her while provoking an embarrassed blush from Marik.

"It was 70% you nark!" Marik argued back. "Which wasn't much worse than your 72%!"

"Well the more advanced the potion is the higher the accuracy rate needs to be. Plus adding the unicorn hair and blood makes the brewing process much more unstable and if it's under a 93% it can lead to very bad side effects," Hermione answered Harry again.

"Side effects like what?" Marik asked

"Well it might actually result in growing you a brain for one," Hermione joked with a wink. Marik rolled his eyes at her joke.

"Well let's hope that it's above 93% then. Knowing Hermione though she probably will end up with 101% somehow," Harry joked.

"Thank you Harry," Hermione said. He was always so nice to her.

Hermione poured three drops of the potion onto the testing paper and the three of them hovered their heads over it waiting for the results to appear.

"99%!" Harry shouted excitedly, giving her a large hug in the process.

"Great job Hermione! That is truly amazing!" Marik congratulated her.

"99%… I wonder what I messed up," Hermione said, not knowing what had led to the potion not getting a 100 percent bothered her.

"Oh shut it Hermione, professional brewers don't even get 100% on most their potions. A 99% is incredible and it means your potion will work," Harry replied.

"Yeah you are right I guess, Harry. Thanks Guys." She was relieved that she had not wasted almost her entire year on the potion, but the perfectionist in her was upset it was one percent off perfect. "I guess it's ready to test now. Who goes first?" Hermione asked the two of them.

"Ladies first, plus you did all the work," Marik answered.

"Yeah, go ahead Hermione," Harry said. She could tell he was beyond anxious to test it himself.

"Okay, here I go I guess," Hermione said to them. She poured a nearby vial with the black _animarevealo potion_ to the specified amount to test if you are an _animagus._ "Cheers!" she said, raising her glass to Harry and Marik as she put her head back and downed the substance.

She immediately regretted this decision. The potion tasted like cold coffee that had been sitting on the pot for over a year. It was disgusting. It took every ounce of control she had to not vomit it all up.

"How long does it take for the change to occur?" Marik asked.

"Mmpgdhs," was all she could manage to grumble out. She was scared if she opened her mouth much more that she would vomit. She just continued to cringe as she looked down at her hands waiting to see if anything changed.

"I'm sorry what language was that?" Marik asked, laughing a little.

"It should only take a few seconds for it to take effect," Harry answered for her, looking down at her hands.

The odds of her being an _animagus_ were pretty slim, she knew that. Although there were a few registered muggle-born _animagi_ in the magical world most registered _animagi_ were of pureblood or half-blood descent. She was still hopeful that she would break the odds though. From everything Harry had told them about his dad and his friends _animagus_ forms it sounded like incredible magic and she wanted to experience it.

The three of them sat there for a few minutes and no changes besides the horrid taste leaving her mouth occurred. Her hands looked like her normal hands, only a little paler from drinking the horrible tasting potion. It appeared that she was not an _animagi_ after all. She couldn't help the frown that formed on her face.

"Oh well, at least I still have an ' _M_ ' mark worthy potion to turn in," she said breaking the silence. She was trying to mask the disappointment she was feeling at the results and hoped she was succeeding.

"I'm sorry Hermione; I was really hoping you were an _animagi_ ," Harry said, trying to make her feel better.

"Thanks Harry, me too. We all knew though the odds of any of us actually being an _animagi_ were slim so I kind of expected it. Marik, you go next since you helped me brew the potion over the holiday break," Hermione said.

"Okay!" Marik answered. He didn't need to be told twice as he quickly reached across the table and poured himself a vial.

"If Marik ends up being an _animagi_ I guarantee his form will be some sort of a cocky animal," Harry said smugly from his side of the table.

"What exactly would be a cocky animal?" Marik asked Harry, looking confused.

"I don't know… I could see you being a peacock. Always trying to flaunt your feathers," Harry joked. Hermione could not help but laugh a little at that. It was true, she could see Marik being an animal that liked to show off.

"Ya ya ya. You better hope for your safety that my _animagus_ is not a dragon or something!" Mark threatened Harry with the joke.

"Marik, it is impossible for someone to have a dragon as their _animagus_!" she corrected him.

"I know, Hermione, I was just joking! Jeez! Ruin a guy's fun why don't you!" Marik grumbeled. "Alright here I go. Cheers!" His face made the same disgusted look as hers had when the potion hit his mouth.

Marik did not try as hard as she had to hide the disgust he tasted. The three of them all looked at Marik's hands and waited another few minutes to see if he had better luck.

"No dragon scales so far," she said still staring at Marik's hands. Harry laughed at that.

They waited just as long as they had when she drank the potion but again with Marik no changes happened.

"Damn. . ." Was all Marik said, not making an attempt to hide his disappointment.

"Well Harry, looks like it is all up to you now," Hermione said as she filled Harry a vial up with the potion and handed it to him.

"Good luck man, don't throw up," Marik tried to joke.

"It's that bad huh?' Harry asked them, nervously looking at the potion in his hands.

"It tastes worse than Romilda Vane smells!" Marik joked, earning a slap from her.

He was so rude sometimes! Harry seemed to find the joke funny as he almost dropped his vial of potion from laughing.

"You have no soul mate. It's true, but you still have no soul!" Harry commented back.

Harry took a swig of the potion and immediately his reaction to the potion was different than theirs had been. While they had both immediately sprouted a look of disgust at the taste Harry's face resembled a much a happier image. Within a second of finishing the potion his hands immediately began to shift in their form. Slowly his hands morphed into two large light brown paws that resembled larger versions of the paws of her family's cats.

"Congratulations Harry! That is amazing!" Hermione said excited for Harry and jumped up to give him a hug.

"This feels so weird! I wonder what it is. Hermione use the spell so we can find out!" Harry said. She retrieved her wand from her pocket and pointed at Harry's paws.

"What you can't hold a wand or cast a spell with those things?" Marik asked sarcastically. "Hermione, maybe we should just leave him like this so we can beat him out in transfiguration," Marik joked.

"Shut up you! Please Hermione," Harry said to her.

" _Animarevealo!"_ She cast the spell on his hands.

The incantation that went along with the potion identified the exact species of the potion drinker's hands after they transfigured. Above Harry's paws blue letters began to spell out two words in the air.

"Mountain lion! My transfiguration form is a mountain lion!" Harry was jumping with excitement.

"That's so cool! I'm jealous Harry," Hermione said honestly.

"Yeah me too. I thought for sure knowing you it was going to be a slug or a goldfish," Marik joked.

"Bugger off!" Harry replied.

The three of them just sat for the next few minutes staring at Harry's paws as he moved them around and got used to having them for hands. His paws after a while slowly molded their shape back into his normal hands.

"Harry, what form was your father and his friend's _animagus_?" Hermione asked.

"My dad's is a stag and Sirius's is a large black dog," Harry answered.

"I thought Sirius was the werewolf?" Marik asked.

"No Sirius is Daphne's dad remember? Remus is the werewolf," Harry answered.

"Oh yeah that's right. So you are the first cat huh? I wonder why?" Marik asked.

"Yeah Harry your animagus form is supposed to say a lot about your power and gifts of magic so I guess we will have to see what being a mountain lion says about you," Hermione responded.

"Congratulations Harry, I already figured it out. Your magical gift is that you like mountains," Marik said sarcastically. All of them started laughing at that, even if it was a bad joke.

"I guess now you can actually practice your end of year project on yourself," Hermione said to Harry after she recovered from laughing.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to get started right away if I want to get it down before we have to present," Harry answered.

"How close are you do you think to getting it down?" Marik asked Harry.

"Hmm. . . Well I've had the motions and incantation down for months it's just a matter of getting the visualizations and being able to maintain my hand in its transfigured form at this point. It's supposed to be pretty difficult and a lot of the books suggest doing it with zero distractions so you don't mess up and end up doing damage to yourself," Harry answered.

"Well do you need any help?" Hermione asked her friend.

"Hermione, you just finished a project that you have been working on for pretty much the entire year! You should be taking a break not worrying about helping me or doing anything else," Harry said to her.

"I don't think Hermione knows what breaks are Harry, we haven't learned about those in class yet," Marik joked again. She stuck her tongue out at him in defense even though he was right.

"You really should go take a break, Hermione, it would be good for you to just get to relax for a bit," Harry told her.

"Yeah, I agree. I'm headed out of here now anyways too. I've got to go do some more work in my dorm," Marik said as he stood up.

"More work on your _super_ - _secret_ project?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow. It was killing her not knowing what he was working on.

"I overheard a Slytherin in class say that Marik's dark arts project was a secret dark spell to get Daphne to like him. Apparently Marik only works on the project in his room because he has a shrine of Daphne in there that helps him focus," Harry joked and was immediately tackled by Marik for it.

Hermione knew the odds of Marik liking Daphne was about as likely as Snape coming to class in a pink robe. Marik had given Daphne the nickname _ice-queen_ , which funny enough the entire school had picked up quickly. As mean as the name was it did fit her quite well.

"Well I think I may head off too. I'm going to find somewhere I can be alone without distractions to start practicing," Harry said as he and Marik finished wrestling on the ground.

"I see how it is. You guys use me for my potion and then just leave!" Hermione said sarcastically.

"Oh stop it; you know you are our favorite, Hermione!" Marik said. "You guys think dinner tonight at seven?" Marik asked as he headed to the door.

"Yeah, I can do that," Harry answered.

"Yeah, me too," Hermione said.

"Alright then. C'mon Harry let's get out of here," Marik said and the two of them headed out of the potions lab to go do their work leaving Hermione alone.

"Maybe I will take a well-deserved break," she said to herself.

For a few minutes she just sat there at the table looking around the room. As sad as it was she really did have no idea how to take a break and she was already bored. This moment had probably been the longest time she had spent not working since she had come to Hogwarts. She tried to wrack her brain and think of something else to do that would be considered a break and would not be as boring as just sitting here was.

"I got it!" she said again to herself. "I will take a walk around the grounds… and plan out what books I want to read next!" Hermione decided, feeling like that was at least kind of a break. She grabbed her wand off the table and made her way out of the potions lab.

The halls of the castle were fairly empty compared to how they normally were on a weekend day. Most of the students seemed to be locked in their rooms or practice rooms slaving away on their end of year projects.

Outside of the castle it was a beautiful summer day. There were surprisingly quite a few other students spread across the lawn sitting, reading, and chatting amongst friends. Most of them had probably already finished their projects or already given up she figured. She decided she should enjoy the nice weather and that she would go for a walk to the lake and maybe sit by it for a little while for her break.

As soon as she started walking her mind immediately started to organize her book reading list order. She was walking outside so that was technically taking a break, but she was not about to waste her time completely! She was definitely going to read the potions book _Bronze-Age-Brewing_ that Snape had let her borrow first since it seemed the most interesting of all the books she owned that she had not yet read. After that she thought she should probably read the charms book that Marik had given her for Christmas. She had already taken a peek at the first chapter of it and it seemed to have a lot of useful spells in it.

Although there were still a bunch of books in the library that she had been wanting to read. And there wasn't much time left in the year so maybe she should start with those first and read her books over the summer. Decisions like this were so tough!

"Where is your boyfriend _Mudblood!"_ a voice said behind her waking her from her trance. Apparently she had been distracted while thinking of her books and had managed to walk past the lake and further ahead towards Hagrid's hut. She turned towards the voice. It was Malfoy and two other boys she did not know.

As a whole Hermione's experience at Hogwarts had been a truly amazing one. However, if there was one bad thing to say about Hogwarts it would be Draco Malfoy. Although he never did anything more than threaten her and call her derogatory names he had really managed to get under her skin this year.

Ever since the dueling tournament when Malfoy had first called her a mudblood during their duel, Malfoy had apparently decided that he hated her. After their run in with him over the holiday break he had approached her one more time when she walking to the Great Hall for dinner with Harry. Harry had hit Malfoy with a stunner as soon as Malfoy opened his mouth and sent him to the hospital wing for two days. After that Malfoy never approached her or said anything to her when Harry and Marik were with her, but as soon as she was alone he came at her in full force with his offensive threats and words.

At first it had bothered her a little, after all no one likes getting called offensive names. But after seeing Harry beat Draco so easily and learning just how worthless Draco really was it had become rather easy to just let his words roll of her skin. He really wasn't worth her time or effort.

"What do you want, Draco?" she asked him hoping he would hurry up and leave her alone so she could get back to her break.

"I think you meant to say what do you want _Sir Malfoy_. That's no way to talk to a _pur_ e _blood._ I guess I should have figured a mudblood like you would have no manners," Malfoy sneered and the two boys beside him laughed.

"Okay, Malfoy. It was a pleasure as always talking to you. Have a _great_ day!" she said sarcastically and turned around to continue walking.

"And where do you think you are going mudblood. We are not finished with you yet," Malfoy called out to her. She ignored him and continued walking away. She had found from prior experiences with Malfoy that the more attention you gave him the worse it got. It was best to ignore him. Besides she was on a break and had important book orders to think about!

"I SAID WE WERE NOT FINISHED WITH YOU MUDBLOOD! Crabbe! Goyle!" Malfoy shouted behind her.

Immediately the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. In an instant she managed to get her wand out of her pocket and throw a shield up just as the two boys with Malfoy spells hit it. They were attacking her! What the actual hell!

"Malfoy, what the hell are you doing?!" she screamed.

"Shut your mouth, bitch! My father told me all about what you and your boyfriends did a few weeks ago when I was visiting home. How dare two mudbloods and a half-blood attack the noble pureblood dark lord! Now you will pay for what you did! _Tarantallegra!"_ Malfoy cast the spell at her. It was a simple spell. She could have easily dodged that spell their first month in classes.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ She cast the disarming spell back at Malfoy. He threw up a shield and blocked it.

" _Expelliarmus."_ she heard two voices in unison say behind her.

She quickly turned. It was the two other boys that had been with Draco. She had been stupid and focused only on Draco and not paid any attention to them. Still they were slow enough in casting that she was able to throw up another shield and deflect their spells. She heard Draco shout something from behind her.

Again she had been stupid and let her guard down. Whatever spell Draco had cast as soon as it hit her back her body immediately went limp and fell to the ground. She was unable to move a single thing in her body besides her eyes. From the results of the spell she knew she had been hit by the _petrificus totalus_ spell.

"Drag her to the woods so no one can see us," she recognized the voice of Draco order the other two boys.

They grabbed her ankles and slowly dragged her across the grass. She could feel each rock scraping at the back of her head and body as they dragged her. She doubted by the time they were finished with her that those would be her worst injuries though.

The sky above her turned to a canopy of trees as the two boys dropped her ankles. The ground under her felt wet. _Was it her blood?_ She thought to herself.

"How fitting. A mudblood laying in mud," Draco laughed out smugly. "My father taught me some new spells over the holiday break that I have been dying to use on you Granger. I've gotten bored practicing them on dummies so I think I will give them a shot on you. _Confridor!"_ Malfoy shouted the unknown spell at her.

The immediate pain almost made her pass out. The spell Malfoy used was a bone breaking one judging from the snap she heard and the pain that followed in her left arm.

"Well that one seemed to work well. Let me see, what was the next one he taught me?" Malfoy was sneering over her as he talked to himself.

She had to do something. If Malfoy kept at this pace she might end up with permanent damage or even… No… There was no way even someone as low as Malfoy would try to kill her. Although. . . He did say a second ago though that she would pay for her and her friends attacking a noble pureblood dark lord.

What did he mean by that? He must have made a mistake or something. They had never attacked anyone their entire time at Hogwarts, let alone a dark lord. Regardless of if he was making a mistake or not she had to find a way out of this before things got worse.

She started thinking. Draco had hit her with a body binding spell. That meant that she would be unable to move her arms to perform a spell incantation to counter it with. As well her tongue was currently stuck to the roof of her mouth so actually being able to say a spell would be impossible too. Her options were practically slim to none.

"Let's try this one. _Mobilicorpus!"_ Draco shouted his second spell off.

Her body immediately flew a few feet away from where she had been lying and collided straight into the trunk of a tree. If she had been able to scream she would have probably ripped a long from the amount of pain she was feeling.

She could feel her arm bleeding badly and the break in it from the previous spell getting injured worse. It also felt like she might have broken a rib when she hit the tree. The pain was too much for her to handle. She wanted so bad to be able to scream in pain but Draco's spell wouldn't allow her too. She could feel tears running down her cheek as black spots filled her vision.

She was going to die here. Malfoy was going to kill her and she was never going to get to see Harry or Marik ever again. An image of the three of them laughing in the potions lab earlier that day came to her mind at the thought of her friends. For a second she didn't feel the pain, but then it returned. No. . . She would not let that happen. She would not let Malfoy win.

 _Come on Hermione you are a Ravenclaw think! You are one of the smartest students in your year, you were one of the best in the dueling tournament, you had private lessons with Quirrell, and you practice every day with two of the best duelists in your year!_ Hermione yelled at herself in her head. She thought back as quickly as she could over anything she had learned that might help her. A thought struck. That was it!

Professor Quirrell, before he went crazy and brought a troll to the school, had taught her and Marik that the most important thing in magic was intent, and mentally visualizing what you wanted the spell to do.

Her wand was still locked in her hand from Draco's initial body bind spell Maybe if she willed the spell and visualized it enough she could still cast a spell without having to do the wand movements or say the incantation out loud. Silent casting was used commonly by aurors and more advanced casters all the time. Surely she could do a simple spell if she focused enough.

"You are starting to look more like a mudblood should, Granger. You and all the other filthy muggles don't even deserve this good of treatment. You should thank me for being nice. All mudbloods deserve is to die. . ." Malfoy was shouting at her. She closed her eyes and started to focus. She stopped listening to whatever Malfoy was saying and instead she focused on her senses.

An _expelliarmus_ spell would be her best bet. It was a simple spell that already required little wand movement. Plus she had casted that spell more than any other in their practice sessions, and therefore it was easily one of the spells she was best at casting.

She focused on how the spell looked, sounded, and worked. She imagined the spell leaving her wand and hitting Draco. When her spell hit him she imagined he would be knocked back and disarmed. She calmed her breathing and she continued to focus.

 _Okay_. . . She said in her head. _Focus Hermione. Focus on the words, the spell, and the results. You can do this._ She continued in her head.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ she screamed the spell out in her head. She visualized the spell leaving her wand and flying towards Draco. Her body seemed to loosen. She tried to move her head to look if it worked. Her head moved! It had worked! She did it!

Looking up she saw the two boys that had dragged her to the forest running away from her. Draco was lying on the ground about fifteen feet away from her. She could see his wand only about two feet in front of her. She wanted to scream as the pain in her body came back to her now that she wasn't as mentally focused.

If she ran now she wouldn't get far before they caught up. Looking at the puddle she was laying in she could see that her arm was bleeding badly and she had lost a lot of blood. Her jeans were covered in red splotches all over as well.

She had to finish them off here if she wanted to make it out of here without Draco being able to stun her again. Focusing on getting the pain out of her head she braced herself on the tree she had just hit and stood herself up. The shot of pain that came across her stomach as she did so proved her guess of a broken rib correct.

She felt like she was about to pass out from the loss of blood and the pain. _Okay Hermione just a few more spells then you can pass out._ She said to herself. She focused herself, and let a rage at Malfoy build deep inside her.

"DRACO!" she screamed his name out in a fit of anger. " _Incarcerous!"_ she shouted the spell at the three boys and immediately the largest ropes she had ever conjured shot out from her wand and wrapped the three boys up.

" _Petrificus totalus, petrificus totalus, petrificus totalus!"_ After the three bodies were tied up she cast the same body binding spell that they had used on her to ensure they weren't able to cast any more spells at her. " _Levicorpus, levicorpus, levicorpus!" "_ Thank you Harry's dad", she said to herself as she cast the spell.

The spell hung all three of the boys upside down by their feet where she then tied the rope that had them ensnared to a branch of an overhead tree so they hung upside down in place. She limped over to Draco until she was eye to eye with him. She could see the panic in his eyes.

 _Good._ She thought to herself as she watched his eyes quiver.

"This is the last time you will ever attack me Draco! This is the last time you will ever talk to me! This is the last time you will ever even look at me. If I ever see you so much as look in my direction ever again I promise that next time I will not be as nice as I'm being to you right now.

You are pitiful. You think you and your pureblood family are better than everyone else. Well how does it feel to know that a mudblood just beat a _pure_ blood and his two friends. You will no longer call anyone a mudblood. If I ever get word from anyone that you even said that word I will curse you until you _bleed_ mud, Draco.

"You will leave here and tell all your pureblood friends and family that from now on we _mudbloods_ have a new name. From now on if you feel like addressing us you will call us _newbloods_. You have clearly shown your blood is far from pure and as you can see a muggleborn may have new magical blood but that doesn't mean they are any less of a witch or wizard. Do I make myself clear Draco?"

His eyes were as wide as they could go and they were filled with panic. If Draco could have nodded his head she was sure he would have from the look he was giving her. Even through the pain she felt good getting all that off of her chest. She was still furious and knew the rage inside her was about the only thing keeping her from passing out.

Suddenly the ropes around the three boys burst into flame. Hermione jumped back in shock. She looked around to see if there was someone around that had cast the spell but there was no one in sight. _Had she caused the fire to start somehow?_ She wondered to herself. The three boys were unable to move a muscle and the burning ropes had quickly burned through the robes they were wearing and were starting to burn at their skin.

" _Finite incantatem!"_ She pointed the spell at the flames and immediately they disappeared. She could see burns all over the boys bodies were the ropes had been. As bad as it looked she did not feel bad at all. Draco had tried to kill her. He had tortured her. This was an eye for an eye. They earned it.

Her leg was starting to give out and she could see more splotches of black filling her vision. She raised her wand one last time to end this so she could get out of the forest before she passed out. " _Stupefy, stupefy, stupefy!"_ She hit each one of the boys with the stunner at point blank range. All three of the boy's eyes immediately shut. She dropped them from the tree they were hanging upside down from and turned to make her way out of the forest.

The pain in her arm and chest made it unbearable to walk. With each step towards the light outside the forest the blackness in her vision got worse. By the time she made it to the edge of the forest her world was almost completely black. There was no way she could make it to the hospital wing on her own. She fell to her knees crying.

As she hit the ground the first thing that popped into her head was the image that had come earlier of her and her friends all laughing in the potions lab. She smiled at the image, feeling some of the pain being replaced with happiness.

The pain started to go away as the last parts of her vision faded. She must have really lost a lot of blood. In the last few seconds before she blacked out she had started hallucinating. She saw an illusion of Harry running towards her. That thought also made her smile. As her world finally went to black she felt the grass brush against her face and heard her hallucination Harry call out to her.

"Hermio…" Was all she heard before she passed out.

* * *

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	11. Book1: Chapter 11

**Marik**

The Great Hall was as silent if not more so than it had been over the holiday break. The entire first year class was seated in the bleachers that had been conjured to the sides of the Hall, much the same as they had been during the dueling tournament. The only sounds that could be heard were from the nervous students going through their notes at the last minute. He wasn't nervous though. He had been ready and prepared for this day for a while now.

Looking to his side both Hermione and Harry had the same confident looks on their faces. Harry had his usual confident smirk put on and Hermione had that scary look that she got whenever she was focused. The new long scar on her neck only made the normally scary look even scarier.

The three of them knew while they were sitting there waiting for the presentation ceremony to start that there projects were all going to be the best ones that were presented today for their year. They weren't cocky, well maybe they were a little, but they knew there was no way anyone else in the school had worked as hard or as much as they had this year. They had earned the results they were about to get.

Even with the three of them taking some time off from their work and studies throughout the year to kill a troll, visit the restricted section a few times, and have Hermione become a legend, there was no doubt in Marik's mind that they would have the best projects in their year. They had all come into the year with similar goals in mind today those goals would be reached.

A few more late students made their way into the Hall as they all sat there. Marik looked back to his two friends.

Harry was sitting right up against Hermione's side like usual. Harry might have been oblivious to what he was doing but ever since Hermione's run-in with Draco he had barely left her side. And the times he was by her side he was literally connected to her side. That day had affected him and changed him a little, almost as much as it had changed Hermione.

 _That poor Draco kid_. Marik thought to himself with a sad smile. Marik had never really known the Malfoy boy that well. They were both in Slytherin so he had come into contact with him a few times but altogether he had never really noticed him that much. After Harry had found Hermione by the forbidden forest and brought her to the hospital wing Snape had got word that three of his house students had attacked Hermione and were still unconscious out in the forbidden forest.

Everyone in Hogwarts and even the Slytherins knew that Snape was extremely biased against anyone who wasn't in Slytherin and heavily favored his own house. Except on that day they learned that Snape favored promising potion students more than he even favored his own house. Marik had thought it was impossible for Snape to actually like a student, but Snape had made it very clear that day that he liked Hermione. After coming to the hospital wing for a few seconds to see the damage inflicted on Hermione Snape had quickly turned and headed out to the forest, after that everything else Marik had heard was rumors.

The most believable rumor that coincided with Hermione's side of the story was that Draco and his friends had been burned and stunned by extremely high powered magic so bad that they were immediately rushed off to the magical hospital St. Mungo's and would not be returning to school because of it. The only other story that was semi believable was that Snape had turned the three boys into jelly worms that he used for Hermione's bone healing potion; although Hermione didn't seem to like that theory.

Hermione had recovered quickly during her stay at the hospital wing. The bone in her arm was fixed and reconnected within two days and her cracked rib healed within a week. All of the scratches but one went away within the same day she started drinking her wound repair medicine.

Hermione had received a long cut stretching from the top of her neck to her collarbone during the fight. Hermione had charmed the scar on her neck to remain though. She said that she wanted a reminder of the day. Marik thought it honestly made her look like quite the badass.

At Hogwarts even the professors spread gossip, so within a few days everyone knew everything that happened and Hermione had quickly become a legend. She had even managed to make a third year boy cry by just looking at him when he said the word mudblood too loud in the Great Hall. Needless to say nobody messed with Hermione after that.

Hermione went back to her normal self quick enough after the whole ordeal outside of being much more vocal and passionate about blood status. Harry on the other hand had been noticeably different ever since.

He and Harry had been walking together when Harry said he had a feeling something was wrong. After that Harry had bolted away from Marik and through the castle. Somehow Harry had found Hermione on the edge of the forest. It was lucky that he did too, much longer out there and Hermione's outcome may not have been a good one.

Honestly if Marik had not restrained Harry next to Hermione's bed in the hospital wing there is no telling what Harry would have done if he got Malfoy and his friends first, but from the look on Harry's face Marik had some ideas.

Marik loved Hermione. She was his best friend and his first ever true friend. She had been the first person in this world his age that he met and because of that she was one of the most important things in this world to him. Before Harry there was Hermione, and before Hermione there was loneliness.

So of course obviously he had been affected by the attack on Hermione too. He had wanted to go give Malfoy what he deserved too. It broke his heart to see Hermione beaten and broken and he had cried for the first time in a very long time. As much as he was hurting though he knew Harry was hurting more. Marik loved Hermione, but Harry was in love with Hermione. Even if Harry denied it, Marik knew this was how it was.

Harry's bright world grew a little darker that day. Never in the short time that he had been friends with Harry had Marik ever seen Harry that distraught and torn. For the first week after the attack Harry was beyond jumpy, and was ready to hex anyone that even looked at Hermione. By the end of the week Harry had been so exhausted from the lack of sleep from worrying that Marik had to force Harry with the help of Hermione to spend a night in the hospital wing under some powerful sleeping draught.

Since that night Harry's mood had gotten a little better and he was no longer jumping at every little sound. However he was still much more obviously protective over Hermione, not that Hermione seemed to mind much.

A loud thud sounded throughout the Hall waking him from his thoughts as Hogwarts' caretaker, Filch, closed the large doors of the Great Hall and all of the students' heads turned to look at the Headmaster, waiting for the presentations to begin. Headmaster Dumbledore stood up from the teacher's table after a few awkward moments of silence and cleared his throat.

"Congratulations on making it to the end! You only have a little further left to go before your first years will officially be over. I hope you all have not wasted the time you have been given and your professors and I hope to be impressed with all of your projects." Dumbledore started.

 _Way to ease the butterflies in everyone's stomach._ Marik thought to himself facetiously.

"You will be called to the center of the Hall by last name at random so that it is fair to all of the students in your year. When your name is called you will hand in the written portions of your presentations to the professor of each course that you are presenting a project on so that we know you are not copying any other projects that you might see while you are waiting.

"You will present the projects in the following order: transfiguration, charms, dark arts, potions, herbology, history of magic, and then your elective course. If you have combined projects for multiple courses you must specify so before you present. All students not presenting will remain absolutely silent while presentations are taking place or you may be subject to failure in all of your courses.

"When the last student has finished presenting you will exit the Hall and go to your rooms until it is time for the Express to take you home. Your marks will mailed to you over the summer. The special recognition ceremony for the top students will be held on opening day of your second year. Now…" Dumbledore paused briefly. "First up is Blaise Zabini!"

 _Poor kid has to go first._ Marik thought to himself as the first student's name was called. The student Marik knew to be another Slytherin made his way to center of the Hall after dropping off his papers at the teacher's table. Overall none of his presentations were that impressive. The best thing he did was cast a spell combo that was not even as good as the one Hermione had used in their second month during the dueling tournament.

"So do we finally get to see the super-secret project you have been working on for forever today? Or were the rumors of you not actually working on anything true?" Harry whispered to him as the next student was called up.

"Shh! You are going to get us expelled if you don't shut up Harry!" Hermione angrily whispered at Harry.

Marik winked at Harry and mouthed out that his project was going to blow minds. Harry just rolled his eyes and put back on his usual smug smirk.

The next student was some Hufflepuff boy who although did not do anything too impressive did end up being quite funny as he failed to cast the spell he had created about fifty times.

Marik looked down to his reports on the spell he had created. He had been successful enough with his magic creations to know he wouldn't have the same results as the Hufflepuff boy.

"Daphne Black!" the Headmaster announced the next name.

Marik's head perked up from his notes to get a good look at Daphne in the center of the Hall. He could see Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the students doing the same thing. The three of them agreed that if anyone was a threat in their year to beat them in a class it was Daphne.

As much as he disliked Daphne she had proved to be a very gifted witch. She by far had been Harry and his biggest competition in all of their classes together. Outside of her _polyjuice potion_ though, Daphne had kept a pretty tight lid on all of her projects, so Marik was very curious to see what she was going to present.

For her transfiguration presentation Daphne managed to turn a teacup into a rabbit, the rabbit into a balloon, the balloon into a bird, and then transfigure the bird back into a much nicer teacup right as it landed in front of McGonagall. You had to give her credit for giving a good show. Presentation did factor into the grading after all. As good as it may have been Marik knew Harry was for sure going to win their year in transfiguration so he was much more interested to see Daphne's charms and Dark arts project.

For her charms project Daphne performed a spell combo of almost every major spell they had learned that year on a large watermelon. First she summoned the fruit, levitated it, cut it, mended it, set it on fire, put the fire out and then she ended it by charming the fruit to dance it's way to a waste bin she had set down a few feet away. Although all of the spells were ones they learned in class, the ability to form a continuous spell chain of that many spells without breaking the flow of magic once was very impressive and would certainly earn her a good score.

The rest of Daphne's presentations were equally as good as her first ones where, although besides the _polyjuice potion_ nothing seemed to be any better than any of his or his friends' projects. The _polyjuice potion_ would definitely beat his and Harry's potions project without a doubt, but the rest of the presentations he was confident they still had in the bag. Daphne finished her presentations with her astronomy project and walked back to where she had been sitting looking smug. He was excited to see her reaction to their projects. Hopefully they would wipe that smug look off her face.

The next few students were all pretty unimpressive. The most impressive presentation so far that day ended up coming from a boy named Neville who had at first looked like he might fail out of the school. The Neville boy had messed up and failed to perform every one of his projects up until his herbology presentation. However when it came for that presentation he pulled out what looked like a walking stick that he had enchanted and blown everyone's minds.

From there Neville laid eight flower pots spread out across the Hall. He then planted a different seed in each one and proceeded to tap his stick on the ground a few times. Each of the seeds immediately sprouted and grew into a large beautiful blooming flower. Marik was very impressed with the magic, especially since he had no clue what had actually just happened. Madame Sprout had even given the boy a standing ovation for the presentation. Guess that meant herbology was out of the question, not that he really cared about that one.

"Hermione Granger!" Dumbledore announced his friend's name after the Neville boy sat down. Marik turned to look at Hermione, trying to gauge how nervous she was. Without hesitation Hermione confidently stood up and made her way up to the teacher's table to turn in her papers.

Hermione performed each one of her presentations flawlessly. She drew _oohs_ and _ahhs_ after each one and the reactions only seemed to get better following each presentation. Marik had seen her perform and practice all of her presentations countless times before. He knew she had them all down to a science and would no doubt execute them all perfectly. Her first few presentations were great and all but he was most excited to see how everyone reacted to her potions one.

"For my potions presentation I need the assistance of my friend Harry," Hermione announced to the teachers as the time to present her potions project came up.

Snape nodded and all of the teachers looked on curiously as Harry made his way down from the stands to meet Hermione in the center of the Hall.

"For my project I brewed the _animarevealo potion_." Hermione paused like they had practiced for dramatic effect. Many of the teachers seemed to be shocked at Hermione's words and the few students who knew what the potion was were also in shock. Marik grinned at their reactions.

Marik took a quick glance at Daphne across the Hall. The smug smirk was removed and her normal ice-queen face had been put back on. That made him happy.

"As you can see from this accuracy test I have managed to brew the potion with a 99% accuracy rating." Hermione handed the test sheet to Snape. "As well the potion was brewed through the more complex ingredient list that requires the use of unicorn hair and unicorn blood. I will now show its effectiveness. Harry please." Hermione directed Harry towards the potion.

Harry drank the potion and immediately his hands turned into paws just as they had done during their first test in the potions lab. Snape, surprisingly, immediately stood up and gave a round of applause. Hermione's head of house Professor Flitwick and even the Headmaster joined him shortly. Marik never in a hundred years would have imagined Snape giving someone a standing ovation.

"Great job Hermione," Marik whispered to himself as he watched the Hall clap for Hermione.

Hermione finished the rest of her projects and she had proven to the rest of the students left that she was now the person to beat. Marik gave her a congratulatory hug when she made her way back to her seat with Harry. Her face looked a little more relaxed now, although knowing her she was probably thinking a mile a minute still about everything that had just happened.

A few more students' names were called out until the Headmaster announced Harry's name. All eyes immediately focused on Harry, just as they always did when any attention was brought to him. Marik had also seen all of Harry's presentations before and had helped him practice a few of them multiple times. The first presentation Harry would give would probably be the best presentation out of the entire day, Marik had to admit.

Transfiguration magic was hard, and being able to transfigure even a hand into your _animagus_ form as a first year was unheard of. Harry walked up though and performed the transfiguration spell to make his hand change into a paw and stay that way without any troubles though, making it look like a walk in the park. Professor McGonagall and even the Headmaster, who Marik knew had been the old transfiguration professor at Hogwarts, stood up following Harry's first presentation and gave him a standing ovation. Even the entire student section joined in on the applause.

The rest of Harry's presentations were just as good as Hermione's presentations were. Although they had some ideas of who would probably win what class going into today Marik was honestly unsure which one of his friends' history of magic projects were better. Harry had done a hell of a job selling his presentation to the professors.

Harry's galactic way-viewer received a big reaction from the astronomy professor and his performance while demonstrating it had blown Daphne's astronomy project out of the water. Harry was a natural at presenting in front of the crowd it seemed. Marik knew his charm's project was better than Harry's project, but Harry had even been so good at presenting his charms project that it actually made Marik a little nervous. The nervousness went away though fairly quickly after he reassured himself of how good his project was a few times.

"Marik Ose," Dumbledore announced his name next as soon as Harry had sat down.

"Gulp," was the sound that came out when he heard his name.

 _Okay Marik be yourself you can do this_. Reassuring himself one more time, he got up and made his way to the teacher's table to drop off his papers. His transfiguration project was first. He made his way to the center of the stage and raised his wand, allowing him a few more calming breaths before he began.

" _Aguamenti!"_ He cast his first spell and water shot out of his wand towards the ceiling. " _Transmorgo!"_ He cast the second spell and imagined the blue pearl he had practiced transfiguring thousands of times. The water ball turned into a large solid blue pearl that began falling to the ground. Right as it hit the ground he cast his next spell. " _Avifors."_ The pearl resembled a cracked egg as it shattered on the ground and out of the pearl a few of the cracked pieces transfigured into birds made out of steam and flew off towards the ceiling of the Hall.

 _Whew._ He thought to himself as he finished his first presentation with a bow.

He had made it through his first project with no issues. Although the presentation was not as impressive as Harry's and probably Hermione's too, his project utilized transfiguring from different states of matter, which they had barely covered that year. He hoped that it would be enough to earn him some credit. McGonagall seemed to like it enough as she gave him a round of applause, although she remained seated. With transfiguration over now it was time for the good stuff.

"My charm's project will be split between both my dark arts project and my spell creation project, both of which required the use of charms to complete." He paused for dramatic effect like they had practiced.

It seemed to work a little as all of the professors were hunched forward looking on with interest. Marik started taking off his school robes that were over his jeans and undershirt to get ready for his next presentation.

"Mr. Ose this is highly inappropriate and is surely not the time for jokes like this!" Professor McGonagall shouted as he took his robe off.

"Shh!" a student from the stands said towards the professor. Marik turned to see that it had been Hermione _shhing_ the head of Gryffindor house.

 _Bold move Hermione_. He thought as he watched his friend give him a smile. Hermione and Harry both gave him a thumbs up when they made eye contact and Marik flashed them a smile before continuing. McGonagall was still glaring but thankfully had shushed.

"For my dark arts project and charms project I decided to create a magical artifact that would help in the defense against the dark arts." Marik reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his shrunken robes. " _Engorgio_." He cast the spell on the robes and they grew to their original size. He put the robes on and made sure that he did not move an inch.

"The materials used to weave a set of magical robes can have a great effect in the defense of spells, as well as adding benefits to the casting of offensive spells. For these robes, which I weaved myself, I used a mixture of Norwegian sheep's wool, unicorn hair, and thestral tail hair. The use of these three materials together provides a regenerative effect, a light magical shield, and the capability to store magic in the fibers. Plus. . ." He ran across the Hall, a smug grin plastered on his face as he waited for everyone's' reactions.

The reaction was just what he was hoping for. As he ran the robes fluttered around him and behind him like smoke in the wind. He had produced the exact effect he had been looking for and the result looked even more badass than he had hoped. He could hear a large number of students reacting in the stands after seeing the effect. That only helped to make his grin grow.

"All of the attributes in these robes required not only the advanced use of charms which are listed in my paper, but also provide a good bonus to my overall defense to the dark arts." Marik finished the presentation with a bow.

He couldn't help but feel a little nervous as he looked at the professors, waiting for their reaction. Thankfully after a few seconds Professor Kingsley, Flitwick, and surprisingly McGonagall all gave him a standing ovation.

 _Whew_. He thought again to himself, allowing himself a brief moment to take it all in.

His potions project he presented much like the students before him had by just providing the accuracy report and the potion to Professor Snape. After Hermione and Daphne's potions he didn't expect much of a reaction from Snape.

The same could be said for history of magic presentation which was really just an extensive paper of research that he had written on the history of magical robes.

"I chose not to do a final project in herbology so for my final project I will present the second half of my charms presentation along with my spell creation presentation." He paused again for a few seconds. "For this presentation I will need the assistance of my friend Hermione Granger," he announced to the Hall. As planned, Hermione made her way down to the center of the Hall where he was standing.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, if you would please be kind enough to turn off all the lights in the Hall and draw the curtains," Marik said to the Headmaster.

With just a flick of his hand all of the candles above him went out and the curtains on the large windows drew themselves. It was pitch black. Quickly he lit the large candle that he had summoned and handed it to Hermione who lifted the candle above her head. He could have done this with the candles lit and windows open but doing it this way made the shadows more obvious and the effect better.

"I ask everyone in the Hall to look at my shadow as I walk around Hermione. As you can see it is acting as a normal shadow should and following me wherever I go. _Umbrosio."_ He cast the spell he created.

"However now…" He made the shadow of himself start walking away from where he was standing. Marik heard a few _oohs_ in the audience and even a few quiet screams as his shadow walked around the Hall.

"Not only have I created a spell that can manipulate shadows but I have also created a type of magic that allows for the dimensional manipulation of shadows. Hermione, I wanted to thank you for assisting me, would you be so kind to shake my hand." Marik paused again as Hermione stuck her hand out.

He focused on moving his magic. The spell continued to work itself and a long black shadowy hand reached from the floor up out of the ground towards Hermione and shook her hand. Marik heard a few more gasps emit throughout the Hall as Hermione shook his shadow's hand.

"How about a hug?" he asked Hermione who went to one knee and extended both her arms out. This time a second arm reached out from the shadow to join the first and they both wrapped themselves around Hermione giving her a shadowy hug.

"Thank you Hermione. That is my final project, I am done. Thank you." He turned and said to the Headmaster, ending with another bow.

The Headmaster returned all of the former lights to the Hall and before Marik's eyes adjusted he could see that every professor besides the divination professor had rose to their feet to give him an ovation. He couldn't help but smile as he watched, allowing himself to feel proud of all of his hard work.

"Great job Marik," Hermione whispered beside him. "The _super_ -secret project was worth the wait." She continued with a smile on her face before giving him a congratulatory hug.

"Thanks Hermione, it means a lot," he replied as the two of them made their way back to their seats in the stands.

When they got back he was met by another congratulatory hug from Harry, who seemed to have been impressed enough with his performances.

He was finally finished! Everything had gone just as perfect as when he had practiced it. Even better, he had received a standing ovation from almost all the professors. He couldn't help the smile that came across his face the more he thought about his presentations. Who would've thought at the beginning of the year that he and his friends would be doing anything like what they were doing now. He certainly would never have been able to imagine it.

The rest of the students that were left continued to present their projects one after another over the next hour. Altogether as the three of them left the Great Hall at the conclusion of the presentations and made their way back to their respective dorms to finish packing they were all confident in their presentations getting top marks.

The Slytherin common room and dorms were a chaotic mess of upper year students freaking out and first year students in tears over their presentations. Marik left them all and made a straight line to his room, wanting some well-deserved rest. Marik had already finished packing the day before so he spent the next few hours just lying on his bed replaying the presentations over in his head.

Finally the clock tower bell rang throughout the school, signaling that the school year was officially over and that all of the students were to head to the Express. Marik bolted out of the Slytherin common room to the main hall as quick as he could to meet up with his friends. After Harry and Hermione found him in the hall they made their way to the Hogwarts Express. Pushing their way through they found the first empty compartment they could and quickly locked the door so no one else would bother them.

"Can you believe we are already done with our first year? It feels like it has been just a few days since we were riding with McGonagall to Diagon Alley and learning that this world existed Marik," Hermione said to him and he nodded back in agreement. "And can you believe how long it's been since we met you already Harry and planned our trip to the forbidden forest?"

"It's pretty crazy huh?" Harry answered.

"I'm already ready for next year," Marik said seriously.

"Yeah me too. I'm going to go crazy cooped up in my house alone all summer," Harry added.

"I will make sure to write the both of you and help keep you sane. And Harry we should both try and go to Marik's dueling championship this summer too. Isn't it in France? It should be easy for me to make it if it is since I will already be there," Hermione asked him.

"Yeah, definitely," Harry quickly added.

"Yeah, it's in Paris. . . Although now that you mention it I probably should have told my parents that I will have to go to France this summer," Marik replied. He had completely forgotten to tell his parents about the tournament in all the chaos of the year.

"MARIK OSE!" Hermione shouted at him. "You better write Harry and I more than you wrote your parents or I will make sure your second year is hell!" Hermione threatened. Her threats had become a lot scarier with the addition of the scar. He fully believed she was not lying.

"I will I will don't worry. How else will I know what books I should be reading?" Marik added.

"You better!" Hermione said.

"So speaking of reading, I was reading earlier about. . ." Hermione started.

"Oh merlin here we go," Marik joked.

"Get ready for this," Harry added.

"Oh would you two. . ." The three of them burst out into laughter.

They all joked and talked amongst each other for the entire train ride. Each of them promised to keep up with their work over summer and write as often as they could. Hermione had even bought them both a goodbye goodie bag filled with an assortment of candies. Marik couldn't help but smile as he popped a vanilla-flavored jelly bean into his mouth.

A year ago his world was bleak and bland filled only with loneliness and no magic at all. Today though his world was filled with color, magic, and best of all friends. His life had gotten so much better since he had left for Hogwarts. Better than anything he could have ever imagined in his previous life and time before he had learned he was a wizard.

He had discovered so much that was amazing, and even more that was magical. He discovered how amazing the world of magic was and how amazing learning magic could be. Everything about his new world had been amazing. His best mate Harry was amazing. His best friend Hermione was amazing. And magic… All of the magic in this world was truly amazing.

* * *

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	12. Book2: Chapter 1

**Hermione**

The city streets of Paris were packed to the brim with witches and wizards from all over the world. Everywhere you turned there seemed to be a group of supporters walking down the street and each of the groups seemed to be having the same conversation. All attention and conversation today in the great city of Paris was on one thing, the European Magic Students Dueling Championship. Their group was no different.

"So Mr. Ose, do you think Marik is nervous?" she asked Marik's father as they waited for the rest of the group to get to them.

"I honestly couldn't tell you, Miss Hermione. Marik has never done anything like this before. Closest thing to a competition he ever did growing up was a book contest one time. I imagine if he is nervous though that he would be too hard headed to admit it to anyone, especially in front of you two," Marik's father answered. Hermione could imagine Marik being the type of student to enter a book contest; after all she had been that type of student too.

"You sure got that right," Harry chimed in from beside her.

"He is lucky that we even let him participate in this tournament after giving us such a short notice. Coming home after a year and saying _by the way we have to go to Paris this summer_ like it was nothing! I swear that boy forgets there are other people besides himself in the world when he starts thinking about magic. I hope the both of you wrote more to your parents over the school year more than Marik did," Marik's mother said, looking down to her and Harry. Even though Marik's father was the big military man he was nowhere near as intimidating as Marik's mother was.

"Yes, Mrs. Ose we did," Harry answered quickly, obviously lying a little. She knew very well that Harry had also got in trouble for not writing his parents enough.

"I don't know if I call five letters, each of which only had a few sentences much better," Harry's mother joked.

"Guess my genes are to blame for that. That is probably more than I wrote to my parents my entire time at Hogwarts," Harry's dad said, laughing to the group.

"That's because you were using all your lettering paper and ink writing love letters to Lily," Remus chimed in with the joke.

"No I was not!" Harry's father said, getting defensive. Harry's mother smiled at the joke, seeming to have enjoyed her husband's embarrassment.

"Yeah you were James! Remus is right! You were always writing Lily and that other girl. . . What was that other girl's name James?" Sirius added, barely able to get his sentence out through his snickering. His remark earned a glare from Harry's mother. "I'm only joking Lily, everyone knows you were the only girl for James…" Sirius continued.

 _Wait for it…_ Hermione said to herself. In the two times she had spent with Sirius she already knew that he never ended a comment without a joke. She had learned that within five minutes of their first time meeting, the hard way unfortunately.

"After he broke up with those other _ten_ girls," Sirius finished.

 _There we go_. She said and laughed to herself as Sirius was playfully tackled by Harry's father.

Harry's parents, the Blacks, and Remus all seemed like family the way they treated each other. To an outsider like her it certainly appeared like they were all more than just old, school friends. It made her happy to watch them together.

They all seemed to know everything about the other and just what to say to push each other's buttons. The all fit well together too. Harry and Daphne's fathers came across as the big jokesters of the group but Harry's mother and Remus cracked just as many jokes as they did. She imagined this was what true lifelong friendships were like. She only hoped she, Harry, and Marik became that close one day.

"So where do we go from here?" her father asked the other parents there as they arrived at the end of the street.

"Well the stadium is just up ahead two streets that way. Normally muggles would be able to see it, but today it has been charmed to repel muggles and those without a ticket.," Harry's mother answered her father's question as they headed off in the direction Harry's mother was leading them in.

"We come to France every year and we have never actually been to the Stade de France. I can't believe it is used for magic events as well as muggle events," her mother replied, sounding very interested in the conversation.

It was true. They spent every summer in Paris and had never once been to any event in the stadium. Most of their time in France was spent exploring the cities or on the beach. No one in her family was very interested in sports or concerts, both of which would be the main reason to visit the stadium.

"It was actually built originally to be France's national quidditch team's stadium. A lot of the players preferred the Parc des Princes though because of its quidditch history though so now this stadium is mainly used for muggle events," Sirius answered. When he wasn't joking and was actually being serious, no pun intended, Sirius could actually sound pretty smart. . . sometimes.

"Hermione, which one is quidditch again? Is that the one with the brooms?" her father asked her the question again for the third time that week.

"Yes father. Quidditch is the one with the brooms," Hermione rolled her eyes as she answered. She had already explained this all to her parents too many times.

"I am sure most of what Hermione tells you is overwhelming and so mysterious," Harry's mother started saying to her parents. "The summer after my first year at Hogwarts my mother thought I was making drugs in my room when she walked in and saw all my potions supplies," Harry's mother said to her parents. Sirius seemed to have whispered something funny about his friend's story to Harry's father who was now laughing hard.

"That sounds a lot like Marik," Marik's mother chimed in. "He has turned our kitchen into a mad scientist's lab this summer. I almost lost it the other day when I saw a pound of frog heads in my sink!" Marik's mother added.

"MARIK IS BREWING POTIONS!" Hermione interrupted before her parents could respond. "Do you know what kind?" Hermione asked Marik's mother, dying to know what potion he was brewing. She couldn't help that it came out like she was shouting at them.

"Hermione dear, don't yell at people!" her mother scolded her.

"Sorry mother. I told you I was going to get behind this summer though! Marik is brewing potions and now gets to practice advanced magic all day. He is going to take all the ' _M_ ' marks this year while I'm just stuck reading!" Hermione crossed her arms and pouted. She knew the odds of Marik taking every ' _M'_ mark were actually pretty slim, but she was still upset that Marik was getting to brew potions and all she was getting to do over the summer was read her books.

"Well you didn't hear this from me young lady but I believe his exact words when he said he had to practice his potions were _my friend Hermione is amazing at brewing potions and she is already miles ahead of me, so I need to practice a lot if I want to even try and keep up,"_ Marik's father paused after doing a spot on Marik impression. His comment made her smile whether it was true or not. "He also said that your daughter Mrs. Black embarrassed him with her potions quite a few times in class. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he said you brewed a really tough potion called the _Mollyjuice potion_ right?" Marik's father asked Daphne.

Marik's father was so nice and funny when he tried to talk about anything magic. She could certainly understand where Marik got his people skills from but other than that it was quite apparent that Marik did not have his father's genes and was adopted, especially when it came to magic.

"That would be the _polyjuice potion,"_ Daphne answered coldly. Apparently parents also were not excluded from her iciness. "And Marik mentioned me?" Daphne asked Marik's father, suddenly looking interested in their conversation.

"Oh yeah! He hasn't stopped talking about y'alls first year at Hogwarts since he got home," Marik's father answered. She could not tell what Daphne felt about Marik mentioning her at home. Daphne's face just remained just as ice-queenish as ever.

"I taught her well, didn't I? Embarrassing a Slytherin a day keeps the Snape away," Sirius joked. She and Harry could not help but laugh at that, even if it was a lame joke. Harry's parents joined in on the laughter.

"Sirius I think you are forgetting that your home now has more snakes than lions in it. You might even be outnumbered three to one in a month," Daphne's mother responded to her husband. Daphne's mother outside of her eyes resembled Daphne hardly any at all. Daphne must have gotten the ice and the rest of her ice-queen genes from her father Hermione couldn't help but think.

"Ya ya don't remind me!" Sirius started.

"Do you know what house you think you will be in, Alina?" Harry's mother asked Daphne's little sister.

Harry had talked about Sirius and his family a bunch during their first year, and she had met all of them during the holidays last year. Even after seeing and talking to Alina for the second time now it was still difficult for Hermione to believe that she was related to Daphne. Alina looked as much like Daphne as Marik did his parents, and that was saying something since Marik is adopted.

While Daphne did not resemble her sister or parents that much Alina looked like a spitting image of her parents. Alina had Sirius's thick pretty black hair which she had grown out all the way down to her waist and wore loose. She also had the same pointed face shape as Sirius and her mother's bright blue eyes, which much to Hermione's jealousy, seemed to radiate against Alina's dark tan skin.

Alina was already just about as tall as Daphne was and Hermione could see that she certainly had her mother's long legs. Even though they had only been near each other for a few hours Hermione could tell from the fact that it seemed she had not inherited the same coldness Daphne had. Alina seemed to have the same bright, bubbly, positive attitude that her father had.

"No Mrs. Potter. But Dad says he will buy me double the birthday presents if I end up in Gryffindor," Alina answered Harry's mother, earning laughs all around. Sirius earned a slap on the back of his head from his wife.

"What? There is nothing wrong with wanting my daughter to be a Gryffindor like her daddy!" Sirius argued, rubbing his head where Hemera had hit him.

"There is something wrong with you bribing our little girl!" Hemera replied, shaking her head with a smile.

"Alright everyone, looks like we are here!" Remus said to the group and came to a halt. In front of them on the other side of the crosswalk suddenly a giant stadium emerged into view.

"Woah." she and Harry said in unison.

The stadium was huge to say the least, making the Hogwarts quidditch pitch look like a kid's toy. All around people were walking towards the stadium. Many of them holding or waiving German, French, and English country and school flags that matched the ones that were flying from hundreds of flag poles atop the stadium. The stadium was impressive enough on its own with all of its size, architecture, and designs. The stadium was even more impressive though with all of the magic flowing through it and around it.

"Wow it looks so beautiful," Marik's mother said, breaking the silence of the group.

"Let's hurry inside so we can get good seats! Marik will be pissed if we can't see him," Harry shouted out, and started off towards the entrance.

"Watch your mouth, Harry James Potter!" his mother said scolding him. Harry blushed in a cute way when she used his full name. Hermione would have to take note of that.

They all followed Harry's lead towards the stadium. Outside of maybe Daphne's family and Remus, if Harry had said half as much to his parents about their time at Hogwarts as Hermione had said to hers, everyone there knew how important this was for not only Marik, but also to herself and Harry.

"Harry look for G2. We will be sitting with the rest of the Hogwarts students and families," Harry's father announced to Harry, who was leading the group.

"Will there be a lot of people from Marik's school here?" Marik's mother asked.

"There should be a good amount. I know their Headmaster is coming and all of the professors are coming as well. Plus the friends and families for each year's participant will be here. So it should be a pretty packed house," Harry's father answered.

"The professors and Headmaster will be here?" Hermione said, suddenly freaked out.

"Well they have to support their students, Hermione. This is a big deal to them too," Harry's mother answered.

"They should be at Hogwarts sending our marks out though, not in France!" Hermione replied, angry that her professors were doing something other than getting her grades out to her.

"Oh Hermione, you know you did fine! Stop worrying about them so much," Harry told her. Even if he was right she still glared at him.

" _Miss Granger,_ I am sure you will be happy to know that your owls will be sent out next weekend. They are currently being reviewed by the Ministry at this moment," A familiar voice said from behind their group causing her to jump.

"Ah Minerva! It is so good to see you!" Harry's mother said to their transfiguration professor and gave the witch a friendly hug.

 _If I called her Minerva I would be expelled._ She thought to herself as she watched their transfiguration teacher hug Harry's parents. The professor greeted all of the parents there with warm friendly smiles and hugs that did not at all seem to fit the professor's normal demeanor.

"We already have a large section built up of Hogwarts' supporters. It looks like we will have more supporters here than even Beauxbatons. Follow me, I will show you to where we are sitting," Professor McGonagall said to their group as she started to lead them around the stadium to their section.

As they entered the gateway opening into the stands Hermione was left speechless. The place was absolutely packed! In the center of the stadium was an enormous soccer field sized dueling platform. Unlike the platform they had dueled on for their tournament, this platform was anything but a simple narrow flat stage.

The platform had four different biomes built into it. Each of the sides of the platform was split into two different biomes. On the left half's sides there were a few trees that made a miniature forest biome and the other half of the platform was a flat grassy area. On the right half's side there was a sandy desert biome with a few sand dunes as well as a hilly grass area filled with large boulders. It looked amazing and she was jealous that Marik was getting to duel on something that epic!

Outside of the dueling platform the stands were filled. Straight across from their section was a loud German section. Everyone was dressed in the colors of the German flag and Durmstrang Academy and many people were holding enchanted signs with the pictures of a participant on them.

She could see her and Marik's parents looking in awe as some of the pictures moved around in their frames or shouted out something. To the left of where they were sitting the French section was much the same. The French fans had planned their sitting arrangement out before the tournament apparently, as the organized colors of their fans clothing made the stands look like a perfect French flag. Every so often the colors would change to match the crest of Beauxbatons Academy.

As impressive as the both of their sections were the Hogwarts sections was even more impressive. Their section of the stands was completely filled up. She immediately recognized a number of people and professors from their school as they made their way up to their seats.

She could see Headmaster Dumbledore at the very front of the Hogwarts section, his beard hanging over the railing and blowing in the wind. Professor Kingsley was right next to him in a bright green set of robes looking like he and the Headmaster were having an intense conversation.

There was a student wearing a huge lion head that was roaring loudly in one part of the section, and another with snake head that seemed to hiss whenever it moved. There was even one student with a large raven's beak on that seemed to be chirping a song out into the stands.

Their group made their way towards their seats along with Professor McGonagall after they had taken a few moments to take in all the sights around them in.

"Wow. . . Marik is dueling in front of all these people? I thought there would be like a hundred people here at most," Hermione heard Marik's father say in disbelief as they made their way across their row.

"Oi Harry!" Hermione turned to see the Gryffindor boy, Neville, greeting Harry from the row in front of them as they found their seats.

"Hey Neville. What is that on your head?" Harry asked Neville.

"It's a _longgggg_ bottom," the two boys next to Neville said in unison. She recognized them as the Weasley Twins. Sure enough Neville had a hat on his head that had been transfigured to resemble a long well… you get the point.

"Hey Fred and George. Why did the three of you guys come? Do you have friends in the tournament?" Harry asked them.

"I don't," Neville answered looking down. "I just figured after my performance for my end of year projects last year I could use the extra exposure to magic," Neville said. Besides his performance in herbology he was probably right about that.

"Yeah our good friend Alicia Spinnet is our year's participant," one of the twins started.

"Plus Ron and Mum have been driving us mad already. So we had to get out of the house," the other twin finished.

"You think Marik is going to win our year?" Neville turned to ask her.

"Well he dominated our tournament… Sorry Harry. . . So yeah I do," She felt bad as she saw Harry look a little upset at what she had said.

It was the truth though. She even hated admitting it since she had wanted to win Hogwarts's tournament so badly too. She and Harry could give Marik a good run for his money dueling; especially now after they had trained so much together, but no matter how much they had trained together Marik was much more of a natural at dueling then herself and Harry seemed to be. So she had to give credit where credit was due.

"So Miss Hermione, do you really think Marik can win? I never realized he would be dueling at a place this big and crowded. I didn't realize how impressive and big of deal this was you know? I still don't even really know what dueling is to be honest," Marik's father asked her, from the row behind her were all the parents were sitting, his eyes were roaming the stadium.

"Yes, Mr. Ose, I really do think he can win. You should be proud. Marik is the best at offensive spells and dueling in our year. And this is a big deal. Marik worked harder than anyone I know to get here," she answered Marik's father. He smiled like a proud dad watching his son catch a baseball for the first time at her words.

"It's hard to imagine our little Marik dueling, although I'm not sure I still even can imagine a duel either. Marik never really told us what dueling is," Marik's mother said and laughed a little.

"Well believe me Mr. and Mrs. Ose, when I say young Mr. Marik has the potential to take this trophy home," Professor Kingsley said as it seemed that he had made his way back to their section to greet Marik's parents. "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt. I am one of your son's professors at Hogwarts," Professor Shacklebolt extended his hand out to Marik's parents.

"Ah nice to meet you, Mr. Shacklebolt. Marik told us that you were one of the good ones at Hogwarts…" Marik's father paused for a second as he realized he was still sitting next to McGonagall, who was sitting in between Marik's parents to explain what was happening to them during the duel. "I forgot to tell you that too Miss Minerva earlier too…" Marik's father said looking guilty. Hermione laughed at Marik's father's face.

"Oh, I am sure it just slipped your mind," Professor McGonagall said with her usual scorn.

"Your son is one of the good ones too, Mr. Ose. I was only at the school a few months last year but your son showed me a lot of good potential. Make sure you pay attention. His magic is very inspiring. It was very nice to meet you both, I hope we can meet again sometime. Please tell Marik that I wished him the best in the tournament and look forward to working with him again next year," Shacklebolt commented and left their group back to his seat at the front.

"Harry, how come you don't have any professors coming up to us to sing your praises," Harry's mother asked with her eyebrows raised from behind him. Harry's cheeks turned a Weasley red at her comment.

"Uhhh," was all Harry managed to get out.

"Lily Evans, don't you go breaking the boy. You know good and well I sung his praises to the both of you. I remember even saying that he showed more promise than a few other Gryffindor students I distinctly remember," McGonagall argued. At that comment this time Harry was smiling and both of his parent's cheeks had turned to a Weasley red.

"Well Hermione, do you have an excuse too?" her dad added to the questions.

"Shh! It's starting!" Hermione shushed her father, excited for the tournament to start and to avoid her father's questions. She doubted no matter how good her potions grade ended up being that Snape would ever sing anyone's praises.

All of the lights surrounding the stadium angled down to focus on the platform at its center. At the center of the large platform were four people, two of which she recognized.

"Welcome everyone to the first annual European Magic Students Dueling Championship! I am Jacques Marquette the French Minister of Magic and I welcome you all to France!" the French Minister of Magic announced in perfect English. "My fellow countrymen and women would like to thank you all for making the long trip here and wish all of your school's participants the best of luck! This year's tournament will be directed by the current European Dueling Master Elite Filius Flitwick. Please give him a round of applause!" the French minister announced. Sure enough standing down at the man's knees was their charm's professor.

"Thank you Jacques. I would first again like to thank you all for making the trip out here tonight to cheer on your friends, family, and classmates. Though I think we are all sure this will prove to be a great competition, I think that it will be even greater to witness the magic that the competition between these three schools will create.

"The representatives of each year for each school have already pushed the boundaries of their magic and shown their abilities to their own schools. Now let them push the boundaries further and show all of Europe their talents." Professor Flitwick paused and the stadium erupted. Hermione could not help but join. The speech was inspiring.

"Now for the rules of the tournament. There are three participants in each year's bracket. Each participant will duel the other two participants in their bracket. The first person in each bracket to accumulate two wins will be named the Dueling Champion of Europe for their year. If after three duels have taken place and no one has won two duels a second round will take place and the person who totals the most number of wins in that round will be crowned the winner.

"The names and order will be chosen at random. After each duel both participants will receive a five minute break, rejuvenation potions, energy potions, and any other medical treatment that they may need. If a duelist is deemed unable to progress to the next duel they will be disqualified.

"Each duel will have no time limit, and the participants have been given a list of illegal spells beforehand. We ask all fans to please remain seated and do not come onto the platform at any time. Families you will be able to visit your child after their round of the bracket has finished in the location designated on your tickets. Now!" Professor Flitwick announced, pausing briefly. "It's time to get this championship started! We will begin with the first year champions. From Durmstrang Academy your first year dueling champion is… Viktor Krum!" Flitwick announced the student's name.

At the announcement of the name the Durmstrang and Germany side of the stands erupted into chants. A large boy who definitely did not look like a first year, made his way out of the tunnel and towards Professor Flitwick.

"Oh wow," Hermione heard Harry's dad say behind them.

"What is it, father?" Harry asked him.

"Sirius, is that the same Viktor Krum who is the youngest seeker to play for Bulgaria's national quidditch team?" Harry's dad asked Sirius.

"Yeah, it is. He is playing on the practice team only, but still the fact that they signed someone his age to the practice team means he is no joke. I believe his is even being recruited by some professional Bulgarian teams too," Sirius answered.

Hermione did not know much about quidditch. But she knew enough about it to understand that Krum being a first year student who was already nationally recognized in quidditch meant that he probably had a lot of talent. If he was the champion of Durmstrang in dueling too that talent at quidditch had probably translated to his wand work as well.

"So should we be nervous?" Marik's mother asked already looking nervous.

"Not any more than before, just because he is good at quidditch doesn't mean he will be as good with his wand," Remus answered Marik's mother, obviously trying to make her feel better.

"Next from my very own school! Your Hogwarts first year dueling champion is… Marik Ose!" Flitwick announced.

Hermione wished for a brief second that she would have brought ear plugs. Her ears immediately started ringing as the Hogwarts stands erupted. She joined in with loud screams! Loud chants of _Ose_ could be heard across their section and the large snake head that one of the Slytherin students was wearing was making loud snake hisses that echoed throughout the stadium.

Hermione turned behind her to see Marik's mother shedding tears with a huge smile on her face. Marik's father looked proud as he was stretching his neck to see his son on the platform.

Out of the tunnel Marik emerged. He had decided to wear his end of year projects robes that he had made and she could not blame him. He did in fact look kind of badass, not that she would ever actually tell him that though.

As he made his way out of the tunnel his robes flurried behind him like a trail of smoke and it appeared as if he was gliding towards Viktor Krum and Professor Flitwick as he walked to the center of the platform. The robe effect earned a lot more whistles and cheers from the crowd. She had no idea this many people cared about Marik winning. The cheering for him had been nowhere close to this loud during the school tournament. She guessed it was mainly just them rooting for Hogwarts though and not necessarily just him.

"And last but not least. Your very own! From Beauxbatons academy your first year dueling champion is. . . Fleur Delacour!" Flitwick announced the last duelists name and the French section erupted.

A blond girl made her way out of the tunnel and immediately Hermione did not like her. As soon as she made her way onto the platform almost every male student in the Hogwarts and Durmstrang section was craning their neck to look at her and whistling when they did.

 _She isn't that pretty._ Hermione said to herself. Something was definitely up with girl, Hermione could tell. No one was naturally _that_ pretty. The Fleur girl made her way to the platform where Marik and the Viktor boy were standing.

"Let's give one more round of applause for your three first year dueling champions!" Flitwick announced.

She again started clapping loudly and even stood up to yell "Go Marik!" Harry followed her lead and stood up to cheer his friend on.

"Now let's get ready to duel! The first duel of the tournament will be between…" Flitwick paused and the stands went quiet in suspense. "Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum!" At the announcement of the first two names a sigh of relief swept Hermione over as the French and German sides of the stands erupted.

"It's good that Marik doesn't have to duel first," she started saying to her and Marik's parents behind her. "Now he gets a chance to observe the other duelists and strategize."

During their dueling tournament at Hogwarts both she and Marik had communicated after every duel they watched. It had been through their strategizing that she was able to make it as far as she had. This time though Marik would be on his own with his strategizing.

The German duelist, Viktor, was given the left side of the arena with the small forest and flat plains area. The French duelist, Fleur, took the other side. The biomes and objects on the dueling platform added a whole realm of new possibilities that had not been there in their tournament at Hogwarts. Marik would have to watch out for not only spells directed at him, but also spells that used the settings around him throughout his duels.

Along with the biomes the size of the dueling platform added a whole other element. There were now places to use as cover, hide behind, and much more space to use to dodge. The massive size of the platform also meant that spells would require much more power to reach their opponent and more risks would have to be taken to get within range. Hopefully all of this information was not making Marik more nervous than she was.

"Duelists when the glowing light at the center of the stage turns from white to green you will begin the duel. If a spell is cast before the light turns green the round will be counted as a loss. Now…" The professor paused again. "Are the both of you ready?" Professor Flitwick asked the two duelers. Both of them nodded with determined faces. "Then get ready!"

The floating light in the middle of the stage was a bright white. The stadium was silent as everyone waiting on the edge of their seats for it to change colors.

It turned green, and the duelists were off. Neither one of them immediately went into spell casting but instead both ran forwards closer towards the center of the dueling platform. Fleur managed to make her way to a few large rocks on her side of the platform that offered good cover. Viktor chose to take a more aggressive path. On the side Viktor had chosen to run towards there was just open plains so he would not have the same advantage of cover as Fleur did, however he had a much better line of sight.

" _Stupefy!"_ Viktor started the tournament off with a high powered stunning spell. He aimed the spell right at the rock Fleur was hiding behind.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Fleur cast the disarming spell and immediately ran to another rock right as Viktor's spell hit the one she had just previously been at. " _Wingardium Leviosa!"_ Fleur fired her next spell off as soon as she made it to the next rock. Her expelliarmus went wide right of Viktor, missing him by a lot. Fleur chose to make a nearby medium sized boulder fly towards Krum at high speeds with her second spell. Krum pointed his wand at the oncoming boulder.

" _Expulso, deprimo!"_ Viktor cast the spell chain quickly. He started with a spell that Hermione did not know.

Whatever the spell was it resulted in the boulder headed towards him exploding into a hundred smaller rocks in midair. Viktor's second spell was a strong wind spell which sent the exploded rock pieces right back at Fleur. Viktor started to charge in towards Fleur's direction, following the flurry of rocks. Fleur emerged from behind her rock looking confident in the face of Viktor's action.

" _Avifors!_ " Her spell split and collided with all the rocks coming towards her and immediately all of the rock pieces were turned into a flock of birds. The birds switched their direction and headed towards Viktor at high speeds. Viktor's face was one of shock at Fleur's spell. As the birds got closer to Viktor Fleur raised her wand again.

" _Expulso, obscuro, stupefy!"_ Fleur continued with a barrage of spells while Viktor retreated from the oncoming birds towards the small forest. What happened next was unexpected and slightly cruel.

Fleur had aimed her _expulso_ spell to hit a few of the birds. This resulted in a few huge miniature explosions of feathers that provided quite the distraction. The distraction payed off though because just as Viktor made it to the forest her _obscuro_ spell that he did not see coming collided with him. Although her _expelliarmus_ spell went wide right, Viktor was blinded now until he could disarm Fleur. Blinded but not defeated, Viktor emerged from behind a tree guns blazing.

" _Stupefy, expelliarmus, confundus!"_ Viktor fired off three high powered spells that exploded three rocks a few feet in front of him. However none of which were anywhere near Fleur who had quietly made her way closer to Viktor.

" _Stupefy!"_ Fleur cast the spell as she snuck up from behind Viktor. The spell collided with Viktor's back and his unconscious body was thrown forward about twenty feet before it landed on the ground. The French side of the stands erupted into a flurry of cheers and chants.

The first duel had been an impressive display of magic. Both duelists certainly had proven they were both capable of being tough competition for Marik.

Fleur had shown that she had good imagination and quick thinking, both of which were two of the most important tools for a duelist to have. While her spells did not have as much power as Viktor's did, Fleur utilized good use of spell combos. Her strategy with creating birds from stones not only as an offensive attack but also as a distraction to set up a barrage of spells was incredible.

Hermione was very impressed. And she would not say it out loud but she was getting nervous for Marik's duel now. He was definitely good, but the first duel proved the other two that they were certainly good as well.

"Wow… What the hell just happened?" she heard Marik's father say from behind her. She looked back to see all four of the muggle parent's jaws wide open.

"Why did the German boy not know the French girl was behind him?" Marik's father continued.

"Fleur hit Viktor with an _obscuro_ spell. It is a spell that blindfolds the target until the caster releases it," Professor McGonagall answered. "You may have noticed that Viktor used a lot of large powerful spells at Fleur yes?" McGonagall asked Marik's parents.

"I take it you mean all the ones that blew up the area near Fleur?" Marik's mother answered.

"You would be correct. Those types of spells are what your son has proven to be very good at. While Marik's spells may not be as powerful as Viktor's spells were, Marik makes up for it with his intelligence and accuracy during duels. During his duel you should keep an eye out for the creative techniques he uses," McGonagall told Marik's parents.

"Marik can do all of that?" Marik's father said with a shocked face.

"And _more_ ," was all McGonagall responded with, a grin on her face.

On the dueling platform Viktor had been rejuvenated and was now getting medical treatment. There was a brief intermission as the two duelists were given magic potions to replenish their energy before the next duel was announced. Marik would be dueling no matter what in the next duel but she was anxious to know who he would be up against.

Fleur seemed to duel a lot similarly to how Marik dueled in their training sessions. They both seemed to think three steps ahead and cast lots of combo spells. If the next duel was against Fleur it would be just as much of a duel of the mind as it would be of the wand.

Viktor on the other hand could very easily over power you quickly. His aggressive style definitely kept you on your toes. If you made one mistake and were clipped by one of his spells, odds are you would not be able to recover quickly enough. No matter who Marik had to duel first it was going to be tough either way.

"Nervous?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah I am. . . Do you still think he can win?" Hermione asked Harry, her voice full of nervousness.

"Of course he can. He knows probably every spell outside of maybe one that was just cast and plenty more. Plus he has his secret weapon," Harry answered, sounding confident.

Harry was right. She had seen Marik perform pretty much every spell outside of the exploding one that Viktor had used before. Plus no one here would be prepared for Marik's shadow magic. So far even in their Hogwarts section only she and Harry had seen his offensive shadow spell. Hopefully that would be enough for him to win.

Right on the dime as soon as the break timer went off Professor Flitwick made his way back to the center of the dueling platform to announce the next duel. She couldn't help but lean forward in anticipation.

"Our second duel of the European Magic Students Dueling Championship will be between…" Flitwick paused for effect.

"Ugghhh hurry up!" she shouted. _Oops._ She had meant to say that in her head.

"Marik Ose and Viktor Krum!" Flitwick announced the two names. If the German side of the stands had cheered she had been unable to hear them. As soon as Marik's name was mentioned the Hogwarts side of the stands erupted. Every seat was empty as the entire section had rose to their feet in cheers. Already loud chants of _Ose_ were echoing across the stadium. The large Gryffindor head one of the students was wearing was roaring loudly and the Slytherin head had started hissing again to cheer there schoolmate on.

Right on cue Marik and Krum made their way to the center of the dueling platform. Krum was marching with an angered look on his face. It seemed that he was upset at the loss in his first duel and would be taking it out on Marik in this one.

Marik's face on the other hand did not look anywhere near as determined as Viktor's did. Marik was smiling with his usual conceited smirk as he glided to the center. His robes were fluttering around him like smoke.

"GO MARIKKKK!" she shouted as loud as she could. She doubted he could actually hear her over the rest of the crowd but just in case.

"Three knuts says Krum gets out less than five spells," Hermione heard one of the Weasley twins bet in front of her.

"You will NOT bet on Marik's duel! Do I make myself clear?" she shouted down at the twins.

"Yes your Grangerness!" one of the twins said as he sarcastically bowed to her. She probably should not have yelled at them. She was just nervous, and apparently a lot more nervous than even Marik was from his appearance.

Marik and Viktor arrived at the center of the dueling platform, bowed, and made their way to their sides. Viktor this time would be starting on the opposite side he did in the last duel. That meant that Marik would have the small forest as the only cover on his side.

"Are our or two duelists ready to begin?" Flitwick asked Marik and Viktor. She reached over and grabbed Harry's hand. She couldn't help it, she was freaking out with nervousness. "Alright then, just as before your duel will begin when the light turns green. Good luck to the both of you!" Flitwick announced and the stadium went silent as all eyes were glued to the white light at the center of the stage. She could hear her heart beating in her nervousness. After a few more seconds the light changed.

As soon as the light changed Marik glided over quickly to the small forest. Unlike in his first duel, Viktor started this duel off by remaining in his starting spot.

" _Immobulus!"_ Viktor cast the large spell towards the forest were Marik was currently hiding. The spell collided with two of the trees in the front and sent pieces of wood flying in all directions. She was unable to see where Marik was in the forest but it seemed that thankfully he had not been hit by the spell. Viktor slowly started to walk forward to get in better range. " _Stupefy, stupefy, expelliarmus!"_ Viktor continued with a powerful barrage of spells.

The first two _stupefy_ spells collided with the new front line of trees and sent more pieces of wood flying into the air. The second spell even uprooted one of the larger trees when it collided. The third _expelliarmus_ spell flew through the open gap deeper into the forest. It did not seem to hit Marik though.

 _What was he doing?_ Hermione thought nervously to herself. If he kept just sitting there he was going to lose all of his cover or get hit by an exploding tree. Viktor's anger at losing the last duel was definitely being put into his spells this duel. As all the wood pieces and saw dust fell from the sky she could see that over a fourth of the forest had been destroyed from just three of Viktor's spells.

" _Wingardium leviosa!_ " Viktor aimed his next spell at a nearby boulder next to him. Taking a page from Fleur's book he launched the boulder towards the forest again.

" _Stupefy, petrificus totalus!"_ Viktor continued with an onslaught of high powered spells. First the large boulder crashed its way into the new front line of trees. Again the row of trees it collided with exploded on contact and sent wood scraps and sawdust into the air. Viktor's next two spells sliced through all of the dust and two loud booms could be heard from their impact on the remaining trees. She squeezed Harry's hand tighter.

" _Incendio, deprimo, protego!"_ Finally Marik could be heard casting spells. However his choice of spells given his current location only made her more nervous. As soon as Marik's voice died down the entire forest and all of the sawdust and wood scraps Viktor had sent flying were engulfed in an enormous towering flame. As soon as Marik cast the _deprimo_ spell the large forest fire was set hurling at Viktor like a flame thrower.

" _Protego!"_ Viktor threw up the shield spell as quickly as he could. Unfortunately for Viktor it seemed as if he had used a good amount of his energy already and as a result his shield did not cover his entire body. She could see parts of the flames as they flew in a flurry around Viktor's shield licking at his ankles. By the time the flames died down Viktor's ankles were black and Marik had made a charge out of the forest.

" _Incarcerous!, umbrosio, stupefy"_ As Marik charged towards Viktor he sent off the chain of spells.

" _Protego!"_ Viktor responded.

 _There it is!_ Hermione thought excitedly to herself. Marik had finally used his shadow magic spell. With Marik's first spell somewhere around twenty ropes shot out from his wand searching for Viktor to wrap around. Viktor was able to summon a shield quick enough to block them though. However the spell provided all the time Marik needed for his shadow offensive spell.

As soon as he cast the spell the area around the dueling platform got blindingly bright. All of the darkness and shadows in the stadium made their way to a singularity at the tip of Marik's wand. From there Marik slung the shadow ball towards Viktor. The result was stunning. As Viktor's shield finished blocking the last few ropes the shadow ball passed right through the shield and nailed Viktor square in the chest.

As soon as it made contact it exploded with a massive release of energy. Dark energy shot in all directions from the point of impact and Viktor's body was sent flying at high speeds back towards the spot he had started from. From the limpness in his body as he flew through the air it seemed Marik's shadow spell had knocked him out.

If having your ankles pretty much burned off and getting knocked out by a massive shadow spell was not bad enough. Marik had ended his spell chain with a powerful stunner. Just as Viktor's limp body was about to land it was hit again by the stunner. This resulted in his body being sent another fifty feet back and impacting with the wall of the stadium with a loud crack and thud. Hundreds of _oohs_ and _ouches_ could be heard throughout the stadium.

Those sounds were quickly replaced though. After the Hogwarts' section of the stands had a chance to take in what had just happened they erupted into applause.

"He won! He did it!" Hermione stood up and shouted. She turned to Harry and quickly pulled him into a bear hug.

"Mmmmpff," was all Harry managed to get out in the process. She released Harry from their hug after a few seconds and looked back down at the dueling platform. Marik had his usual grin back on and was making his way over to the medical station. Marik sure seemed to be loving all of this.

The stands were going crazy. In front of them one of the twins was interviewing the other twin who was pretending to be Marik and was giving his victory speech. All of the other students around them were conversing about what they had just seen. She heard at least five _did you see that_ and another ten _what was that spell_. Behind her Marik's parents were hugging each other, obviously overjoyed. Marik's mother was crying a little and his father looked about as proud as a parent could.

"He did a good job don't you think? Of course he would put us on the edge of our seats like that by just sitting in the forest for as long as he did. Typical Marik trying to mess with people's heads," Harry said to her.

"Yeah, he did a great job! It was actually smart of him to stay in the forest like he did. Viktor had come out aggressive in both duels. By the looks of Viktor's shield when Marik sent those flames at him he had used up a lot of his energy firing off those spells before Marik even cast a spell. And his _umbrosio_ was even better than all the times we saw him practice it too," Hermione responded to Harry.

"Yeah, it was incredible. After getting hit with that and a _stupefy_ from Marik I think Viktor will be sore for quite a while," Harry added.

"So Minerva, Marik learned to do all that in one year? That is incredible! I don't even know what I just witnessed, it looked like something out of a movie!" Marik's father said excitedly.

"Well your son, outside of Harry and Hermione here, probably spent more time practicing than anyone else in the first year. As to what you witnessed, Marik first cast a flame spell to ignite the trees and debris on fire. From there he cast a wind spell that sent the flames in the direction of his choice while at the same time shielding himself from the flames and any spell Viktor might have cast. I'm afraid after that I am not sure what spell he used to knock Viktor out with though. I have never seen or heard of it before," Professor McGonagall answered.

"How does Marik know a spell that his professor doesn't?" Marik's mother asked, looking confused.

"Because I believe Marik invented it," Professor McGonagall answered looking proud of one of her students, even if he was a Slytherin.

"Marik invented that magic? That is incredible!" Hermione's mother added to the conversation.

"Yes, it is quite the feat. I was aware that Marik had come up with a few spells of his own, however this was not one that I have had the honor to witness yet," The professor made eye contact with her and Harry with her eyebrows raised.

"Don't look at us! We _don't_ know what spell it was either!" Harry responded to McGonagall. He was not very good at lying.

"Mhmm," was all McGonagall said in responses to Harry's lie.

The break bell went off signaling that it was time for the last duel for the first year's tournament. Whoever won the next duel would be crowned the champion.

 _Let's hope it's Marik._ Hermione thought to herself. Fleur and Marik made their ways to the middle of the platform where Professor Flitwick was already standing.

"It is time for the final duel of the first year's tournament!" The crowd erupted again as Flitwick said this. "The last duel will be between Fleur Delacour and Marik Ose!" The two opponents in the center of the dueling platform bowed to each other and made their ways to their sides.

Fleur looked fierce as she walked back. She had a look of determination all over her face.

Marik of course was again just casually strolling back and seemed to be whistling a tune as he walked. He was a little too arrogant sometimes!

Marik would be starting from the opposite side of where he did started last round which meant that Fleur would be starting from the same side she started from during her first duel. That meant that Marik would only have a few rocks for cover along with a few of the larger sand dunes while Fleur had the newly regrown forest. Guess that meant Marik could not use the same strategy as last time.

"Good luck to the both of you! Remember the duel will begin as soon as the light turns green!" Flitwick announced to the two duelists and made his way to the side of the platform. Unlike the first two duels this time everyone in the stadium remained standing. All eyes were focused on the duel that was about to take place. Before she even realized what she had done her hand ended up grabbing Harry's again in all of her anxiety.

"Don't worry, Hermione, he can do this!" Harry whispered beside her. All she could do was nod back. Her eyes were glued on the light at the center of the platform. Green!

" _Stupefy!"_ both Fleur and Marik said in unison. As soon as she cast the spell Fleur was already sprinting towards the forest. Marik had surprisingly started sprinting away from his side's cover and towards the top of a nearby sand dune. Their _stupefy_ spells collided in the center of the platform and sent a shockwave of magic through the stadium.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Fleur cast the spell at Marik from behind a tree and continued moving through the forest.

" _Transmorgo!"_ Marik countered Fleur using the spell Harry had used on her and Marik in the Hogwarts tournament. The spell collided with Fleur's _expelliarmus_ as it closed in on Marik and evaporated into a cloud of smoke. " _Incendio!"_ Marik cast the fire spell through the smoke cloud in the direction of the forest and Fleur.

Unfortunately for Fleur the fire spell was too spread out for her to block it. Just as it had been in Marik's previous duel the forest was engulfed in a fury of flames. Fleur bolted from the forest firing spells as she made her way towards the rocks on Marik's side of the dueling platform.

" _Stupefy, confundus, deprimo!"_ Fleur was shouting spells out in a flurry as she ran.

" _Protego, umbrosio!"_ Marik responded from the top of his sand dune.

Fleur's spells had been dead on. Her _stupefy_ and _Confundus_ spell had been a direct hit on the center of Marik's summoned shield. Marik however reflected the two spells back at Fleur and was also quickly able to get his shadow manipulation spell off as well. That meant he had the potential to start using shadows to his advantage now. Hopefully that would be enough.

Fleur's _deprimo_ spell was aimed in front of Marik instead of at him. It landed around ten feet in front of him in the sand. The result was the startup of a miniature sand storm that made Marik's side of the platform impossible to see into and most likely out of. Marik deflected Fleur's first spell right over her head, how original, and the other one to a nearby rock. Luckily for Marik Fleur had to dodge the exploding pieces of rock near here so that kept her from firing another immediate spell off into the sand storm. It was now impossible to see Marik in all the sand though.

" _Aguamenti, fulminous!_ " After dodging the rocks Fleur was back on her feet with her wand raised and sending another spell combo at the sand storm and Marik. A huge jet of water shot from the tip of her wand and started drenching all of the sand in the dust storm and turning all of the sand on the ground into mud. Immediately following that spell she had launched a spell Hermione had never heard of. It looked to be a bad spell for Marik though.

Sparks of lightning shot towards the now flooded sand area and into the sand storm. With all of the water in that area around Marik the lightning spell was that much more dangerous. The puddles and falling water were surging with electricity and no signs of Marik could be seen or heard through all of the sand still flying around. This looked bad.

" _Stupefy, petrificus totalus!"_ Fleur cast another two spells into the dying sand storm to make sure she hit her target with at least something. After a few seconds of silence the sand storm started to die down. Hermione stood on her tippy-toes to get a good look. She was fearing the worst. Marik had not returned a spell in a while…

When the sand storm died down she and the rest of the stands were shocked at what they saw. Instead of seeing either a shielded Marik who had somehow survived Fleur's onslaught of spells or an unconscious Marik who had been hit by a spell, there was nothing but sand there. Marik was nowhere to be seen.

Fleur had apparently had the same thought as Hermione had at the absence of Marik and started firing spells at the sand dunes. Marik must have been covered in the sand storm. He was probably just sitting under one right now waiting to strike. However one by one Fleur's spells found nothing but sand as they exploded.

Hermione looked at the scoreboard and saw that it was still showing Marik as conscious and in the duel. Something strange was going on. . .

"Come out you cowar… AHHHH!" Fleur started to yell at Marik but it turned into a scream. Out of Fleur's shadow two long shadow arms and hands emerged in a smoky cloud of blackness and grabbed her wrists. Fleur immediately dropped her wand in the panic as she continued to scream. However arms were not the only thing that emerged from Fleur's shadow.

Out of the remainder of Fleur's shadow on the ground, which was now emitting a black fog, an entire black shadowy figure, at least seven feet tall, was emerging. First a shadowy head emerged and a body followed. Still holding on to Fleur's wrists, an entire figure formed itself from Fleur's now absent shadow. It towered a few feet taller than Fleur and resembled something out of a scary story or nightmare.

" _Umbrosio!"_ an unfamiliar deep hollow hoarse voice shouted. All of the smoke, shadows, and darkness that were making up the figure holding onto Fleur shot forward like Marik's offensive shadow spell and impacted with Fleur's body at point blank range. Fleur went flying back across the platform and landed on the other side of it limp, and unconscious. More shocking than the twist of events that had just occurred was what Hermione and the rest of the stadium were beginning to realize.

When the shadow figure had shot forward at Fleur it had left something in its place. Standing where the figure had been seconds before was Marik. However his smug arrogant grin was replaced with one that she had not seen before. Marik looked confused, and scared.

The stands were still completely silent. Everyone was still in shock at what they were seeing. After a full two minutes of silence a few claps started from the Hogwarts' section and slowly started to build up throughout the stands. Eventually after a few more seconds the loudest round of applause so far that day could be heard throughout the stands.

"Hermione, he won!" Harry said to her and wrapped her in a hug.

 _Marik won the tournament! He did it!_ … _But how?_ Hermione wondered to herself.

"Harry?" Hermione started to ask Harry if he knew how Marik had done what he did.

"I don't know either, Hermione. We will ask him later. For now let's just celebrate," Harry whispered in her ear as he hugged her. Hermione released Harry and started cheering for Marik as loud as she could. She could put off having to know everything for a few hours. For now she had to cheer on and congratulate her friend. He had won the tournament!

"And the winner for the first year class in the first annual European Magic Students Dueling Championship is Marik Ose from Hogwarts!" Flitwick announced to the stands. This made the Hogwarts' section go crazy.

Looking in the stands around her she could see everyone was celebrating the win for Hogwarts. The twins had switched roles and this time the other one was pretending to interview Marik, who apparently had lost his American accent for a French one. McGonagall was releasing Marik's mother from a hug.

Even if Marik was a Slytherin McGonagall treated all of her students like they were her children. Both of Marik's parents looked beyond proud at their son's performance. For a second it even looked like Marik's father had been crying.

She could not blame him. It took all she had in her to not shed a few tears. Her best friend Marik had won! It was still so unbelievable.

"What do you all say we go congratulate him?" Professor McGonagall said to their group.

"Can WE?" Hermione asked loudly in excitement.

"Yes Miss Granger, we can. Marik only has to stay for his round of the tournament he is free to go whenever he wants. Follow me everyone. I will lead the way to the duelist's section," the professor announced to their party in her teacher's voice.

Just like a line of first years their now smaller group followed the professor to see Marik. The Blacks, Remus, and Harry's parents stayed behind to watch the next round and to not overwhelm the boy they had never really met. Plus Daphne looked pissed that Marik had won. Alina on the other hand had a huge smile on her face and seemed to be pestering Daphne with questions.

The duelist's section was down a flight of stairs on the first floor that led to a section of rooms under the stadium. Their group waited in the lobby for Marik to emerge. After a few minutes of anxious waiting Marik made his way into the room they were waiting in and was immediately swarmed.

"Marik! Congratulations!" She was the first to see Marik round the corner and ran to give him a hug before he even realized they were there.

"Ouch Hermione! Thanks haha!" Marik said. She noted his facial expression had returned to normal.

"Great job, Marik, that was incredible!" Harry had made his way over and given Harry a congratulatory hug too.

"Thanks Harry. It was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. That Fleur girl can sure duel," Marik said to them. "So mom and dad what did you think?" Marik made his way over to his parents and asked their opinion.

"It was incredible son. We are very proud of you," Marik's father said.

"You put on quite the show Marik. We can see that you weren't lying when you said you were too busy studying to write us. Although it's still a bad excuse!" Marik's mom told him smiling. Marik blushed at her last remark.

"I'm very proud of you for your performance Mr. Ose. You did a great job today," Professor McGonagall said to Marik.

"Thank you professor, it really means a lot. I'm happy it's over now though. I am so tired I just want to sleep until school starts," Marik said to the group.

"Well don't do that. Then I will have to wait even longer to find out your grades! You already stressed me out enough today! I won't have any more stress this summer!" she scolded him.

"And didn't you tell me you would have to stay up late brewing that potion again tonight?" Marik's mother added.

"Mom, the potion! We have to get home now before it is time to add the next ingredients!" Marik said looking worried. Their entire group started laughing at that.

"You are truly one of a kind, Marik. You win a huge tournament in front of thousands of people and all you can think about is practicing more magic," Harry joked.

"Well Hermione is going to find out she flunked out when she gets her grades so one of us is going to have to pick up the potions slack Harry," Marik joked. Before anyone could laugh she had already tackled him to the ground.

"MARIK OSE, you take that back this instance before I…" she was shouting at him from on top of him on the ground. After each word she followed it with a light punch on each one of his arms.

"Ow ow ow Hermione Hahaha ow!" Marik and everyone else in the group were laughing as Marik suffered his worst defeat of the day at the hands of her.

She couldn't help the smile that came over her face too as she started laughing with them. She was proud of her friend. He had done amazing magic, and he was truly an amazing wizard, and truly a great friend. She was excited to hear all about what he thought of the tournament when it was just the three of them. For now though she was content with being with friends and family. For now she was happy just laughing.

* * *

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	13. Book2: Chapter 2

**Harry**

"Alina, Daphne, Harry! There are three owls here with your Hogwarts letters," Sirius shouted from kitchen.

"Coming!" the three of them said in unison from the Black family library as they dropped the books they were reading and bolted their way into the kitchen. Sure enough Sirius was right. Perched on the countertops were three large barn owls, all carrying a letter tied to their feet.

"Daphne, yours is the one by the window. Alina, yours is in the middle. Harry you have the last one," Harry's mother told them. Harry ran towards the owl with his letter, probably a little too quickly as it snapped at his fingers when he reached for the letter.

"I'm sorry. I was just excited," he apologized to the owl and fed it a treat from the nearby bowl. His fingers were shaking as he untied the letter and prepared himself mentally to open it. He knew he had not failed any classes; however this did not change the fact that he was still nervous. He had worked so hard his first year and was worried his grades might now reveal that it was all for nothing.

 _Here goes nothing._ He said to himself. He tore the seal on the letter and opened it up to read:

 _Harry Potter,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _First year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _2_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _2_

 _Transfiguration:_ _M_ _1_

 _Potions:_ _E_ _9_

 _Dark Arts:_ _O_ _2_

 _Herbology:_ _A_ _20_

 _Astronomy:_ _M_ _1_

 _Overall Student Rank: 3_

 _Based off of your grade report you will be allowed to continue your education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as well as advance to second year courses in all of your previous classes._

 _You will also receive special recognition during the opening ceremony due to your performance and grades. Further information will be given to you during the opening ceremony. Congratulations on earning two 'M' grades along with three 'O' grades, that is quite the achievement._

 _Your second year class schedule can be found on the second paper in this letter. A list of all the second year supplies has also been added. I and the rest of the Hogwarts staff congratulate you and look forward to seeing you again for your second year._

 _P.S._

 _I suggest you do not slack in your studies over the remainder of the summer Mr. Potter. I expect you to be at your peak potential come the first day of classes. Do not disappoint me and make me regret my decision._

 _Your Head of House,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

Harry read over the letter a few more times in disbelief.

"Well spill it already!" his father shouted next to him.

"I got ' _M_ ' ranks in transfiguration and astronomy, ' _O_ ' ranks in charms, dark arts, and history of magic, and I got ranked third overall in my year," he announced to his parents still in shock.

"Congratulations Harry!" his father said giving him a hug.

"That is amazing Harry. I never got an ' _M_ ' mark until my fourth year! You should be proud," his mother said to him and joined in on the hug. "Let me see the letter," his mother said as she took the letter from him and looked it over with his father.

"Well I see you inherited your potions and herbology genes from your father. Even if you don't find an interest in those classes, Harry, you need to make sure you aren't sacrificing time in those classes for your others. When you get into your higher years it is okay to specialize in certain fields but early on you need to know a little of everything," his mother lectured him.

"I know, mother, I'm sorry," he apologized to her.

"Don't be sorry, Harry. You should truly be happy and proud with yourself. Me, your father, Sirius, Remus, and Hemera would have only dreamed for marks this good our first year," his mother said, wrapping him in another hug.

He couldn't help a smile come to his face upon his mother's words. Although he had gone into Hogwarts wanting to get an ' _M_ ' in all of his classes he was proud with his results. Out of all the incredible witches and wizards he had met and seen at Hogwarts during his first year his professors had ranked _him_ in the top three overall, and in the top three in five out of his seven classes.

"I wonder what Minerva means when she writes _don't make me regret my decision?_ Did she tell you something, Harry?" his mother asked him, talking about the last lines in the letter.

"No she didn't. I was actually hoping she had told you both something," he answered. He had also been curious when he read the end of the letter what McGonagall had meant as well. Although the excitement over his grades dominated his feelings of curiosity presently at the moment.

Across the kitchen the Black family was exchanging hugs and words over their letters. Alina looked like she was close to bursting with excitement as she was reading her acceptance letter with Sirius. Harry could understand what she was going through right now, having reacted much the same when he had received his first letter from Hogwarts. Daphne's face was masked in its normal ice as she was discussing her letter with her mother. He wondered how she did.

"Daphne, do you mind if I see your grades?" he asked her as he made his way across the kitchen.

"Only if I get to see yours," Daphne answered coldly.

"Yeah, sure," he said. The two of them exchanged letters and he quickly scrolled through hers to the grade portion:

 _First year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _3_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _3_

 _Transfiguration:_ _O_ _4_

 _Potions:_ _O_ _2_

 _Dark Arts:_ _E_ _6_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _4_

 _Astronomy:_ _A_ _10_

 _Overall Student Rank: 4_

Daphne had done just as good as he had. Maybe even almost a little better he couldn't help thinking. She was certainly a little more consistent across the boards than he was. She was ranked in the top ten in every one of her classes, and the top five in five of them. Outside of his two ' _M_ ' marks she had done just as well in all of her classes and better than him in a few.

"Wow Daphne, these are really good," Harry said to her.

"Yours are too, Harry. But don't think for a second I will let you have a higher rank than me two years in a row. This year it really is on!" Daphne responded.

"Challenge accepted," he replied with a smile. He was happy accepting her challenge. He could use all the extra motivation that he could get going into his second year. His grades and Daphne's challenge only added to the motivation he had started feeling at the beginning of the summer.

After seeing Marik, Fleur, and Viktor perform during the dueling tournament combined with all of the other magic he had experienced so far during his first year he decided that in his second year he would be taking things to a whole new level. His year or age didn't matter. He used that as an excuse to not try and learn advanced or difficult magic during his first year. Marik, Fleur, Viktor, Hermione, Daphne proved that it is very possible to go on and excel beyond your year level though. So this year he would not make the same mistake.

"Okay, well is everyone ready to go to Diagon Alley then? I think Alina is going to explode if we don't hurry up and get her stuff soon," Hemera asked the group. Sure enough Alina was basically bouncing off the walls as she stood there, still looking over her letter. She was definitely more like Sirius than Daphne that was for sure. The large smile on her face that matched his uncles only proved that point more.

"Give me five minutes! I'll be right back!" Harry answered. He quickly ran back to the Black library and grabbed a quill and some paper. He copied his letter from Hogwarts twice and wrote a quick letter to both Hermione and Marik. The three of them had promised after the tournament in France to share their grades as soon as they got them. In truth he and Marik agreed mainly out of fear at what Hermione would do to them if they did not send her their grades. After attaching the letters to Hedwig, and sending the owl off with a treat he made his way back to the group in the kitchen.

"Okay sorry about that. I am ready now," Harry said to the group, out of breath from all the running he had just done.

"Had to write your girlfriend first huh?" Sirius joked.

"Nooo! Why does everyone always say that!" he quickly argued. He couldn't help it when his cheeks blushed.

"Alright the portkey is almost ready. Everyone gather round," his mother announced. The group huddled around a yellow rubber duck on the table.

 _Of course it is something weird like this._ He thought to himself, noticing yet another weird object being used for a portkey.

"Alright everyone grab on," Sirius called out. Harry reached out his hand and grabbed on the other hands at the center of the table. After a few more seconds his body lurched forward and he felt himself being bent and stretched. Before he could get used to the feeling his body returned to normal and his surrounding became recognizable. Diagon Alley!

"Alright Sirius - Hemera, why don't we split up and meet back at the bookshop at noon? The portkey will activate at 12:30," his mother asked.

"Sounds like a plan. Come on my beautiful gals," Sirius said to his family as they turned and headed down the alley.

"Where do you want to start, Harry?" his father asked him.

"Well I was going to say bookstore. . . But I guess let's go get my potions and herbology supplies out of the way. Oh and Hermione's birthday is in the third week of school so I want to get her a birthday present from the potions store too! If that's okay with you two… I saved some of my money to get her one," he replied, answering his father.

"I think that is a great idea. Don't you, James?" his mother said with a suspicious looking smirk to his father.

"Yeah, I do." His father replied, his face lit with a grin too. "Any ideas what you want to get her, Harry?" he asked Harry.

"Yeah, I have some ideas, but I want to see what all they have first," he answered.

"Well let's get going," his mother said and the three of them made their way towards Slug & Jigger's Apothecary.

Altogether his second school shopping trip to Diagon alley felt much less exciting than his first one. He was jealous of Alina for getting to experience this all for the first time. He wished he could go back in time and get to do it all over again. Everything had seemed so much bigger and brighter back then. Now things weren't as exciting when you knew what everything was. As they walked by all the shops along the alley though it was easy to go back and remember the excitement he had back during his trip here last year.

At the first two shops they visited his parents and him had purchased all of his potions and herbology supplies that he would need along with a birthday present for Hermione. He had ended up spending most of his time in the shops looking for Hermione a gift instead of looking for school supplies.

It had taken him a while to decide but in the end he went with the pair of self-cleaning potion flasks. They weren't the most exciting gift in the world but as much potion work as Hermione did he was sure she could get some good use out of them. He was confident that she would like it, and was already anxious to give it to her.

From there the rest of their stops went by in a breeze. Since they did not have to do a lot of shopping this time around they ended up finishing their shopping much quicker than they had last year. All he had left to get was his books for second year so with that they made their way to the bookshop early.

"Harry, wait up before you go running off in the book store," his mother told him as he had already started picking up his pace.

"Yes mother?" he asked, anxious to get to the bookstore.

"Your mother and I are unsure if we will be able to make another trip to Diagon Alley this summer, so for an early birthday present you can pick out an extra book as one of your gifts okay?" his father said.

"Awesome! I know just what I want too!" he shouted in excitement as he gave both of his parents a hug. As soon as he finished giving out hugs he bolted into the store as quickly as he could.

His family had made a few trips to the Black's home over the summer this far due to his mother's work. Both his mother and Daphne's mother worked in the ministry together in a research lab. They weren't allowed to discuss with Harry what they were working on but from what he knew about his mother and Hemera Black it was most likely something to do with charms and transfiguration.

Whatever they were working on apparently they had a heavy workload since it required the two of them to bring a lot of their work home. As a result his mother had been staying over quite a few nights at the Black house and had brought Harry along with her a few times.

At first he had been reluctant to go. Since going to France for the tournament and getting motivation to keep practicing and learning what he could over the summer, he had been making good progress through his family's library. However he was happy he had decided to come along to the Black's house in the end. The Black family library was much larger than his family's after all.

During his stays at the Blacks, Sirius was always kind and funny as usual. Daphne and Alina on the other hand tended to still keep to themselves. Alina much like him during the summer before his first year was reading as many books as she could cram in last minute to prepare herself. As a result besides asking him or Daphne a question now and then she kept to herself. Daphne kept to herself much the same but seemed to be a little nicer to him than she had before. They even managed to have a few good conversations on certain topics of magic. However it almost always ended with her giving him a cold shoulder to something.

He was okay with the two girls leaving him alone though. While he enjoyed discussing magic with them he enjoyed the alone time to study and look for interesting books. For most of June he had been searching for books on advanced transfiguration magic. He found quite a few good books with tons of useful information and spells that Sirius had let him borrow. However, after his trip to watch Marik duel in the tournament he decided to switch gears. The next time he went to the Black library after the tournament he looked for the most complicated and difficult looking magic book he could find.

He knew he was already good at transfiguration and the subject came easy to him. So he would continue working on his _animagus_ , reading ahead, and learning difficult transfiguration spells. However, if he wanted to become a better wizard he needed to be more well-rounded like his mother said. Therefore he had searched for advanced looking magic books in the Black library and for something that was not transfiguration magic. After he had searched through almost half of the entire Black family collection he had finally found the perfect book.

The book was titled _Magics of The Mind,_ and had been his main reading material ever since he had found it. While the book was mainly a collection of journals from various studies done in the wizarding world it did contain two chapters that interested him greatly. The last two chapters of the book were on the types of magic known as _occlumency_ and _legilimency._

As soon as he read the two chapters on these types of magic he decided they would be perfect for him to study and research. Since the subjects were both extremely rare, advanced, and complicated types of magic he knew to be able to learn them that he would have to push himself and his magic extremely hard; that and the conversation he had with Dumbledore last year was still in the back of his mind.

Dumbledore told him that Voldemort had been possessing Quirrell. If Dumbledore knew how Voldemort was possessing Quirrell he had not told him. Even if Voldemort had not used these two types of magic to possess Quirrell, Dumbledore had told him to be ready if Voldemort does come after him again in the future. So learning to protect his own mind along with being able to navigate someone else's mind would certainly come in handy down the road if Voldemort showed up again he imagined.

So with all this in mind, no pun intended, he set out looking through the bookstore for any books that might give him further information on the subjects of _occlumency_ and _legilimency_. Most of the books he found did not have any information on the subject. _Occlumency_ and _legilimency_ were apparently not common types of magic he guessed due to the lack of books on the subjects. It took a good hour of searching before he finally found a dusty old book that contained a few chapters dedicated to learning the subjects. That was good enough for him though.

He dusted the book's cover off and started looking around for his parents. It had apparently taken him longer than he thought to find a book. When he found his parents Sirius and his family were already done with all of their shopping.

"About time, Harry! You must have looked through every book in here," his father joked.

"Did you find anything good?" his mother asked.

"Yes mother," he answered and added his early birthday present to the stack of his second year books.

" _Rare Magiks_ huh? What type of rare magic are we looking to learn, Harry? Nothing dangerous I hope," his mother asked him with piercing eyes that rivaled McGonagall's.

"No - of course not mother! I'm just hoping to use it to come up with inspiration for end of year projects," he said, somewhat lying.

"Mhmm. Well why don't you take your new book and go wait outside with Daphne and Alina while your father and I wait in line with Hemera and Sirius okay?" his mother said.

"Yes mother. Thank you again for the book," he answered.

"Happy early birthday Harry," his mother replied with a bright smile. Harry took his book out of the bag the cashier had put it into and made his way out of the shop where he found Daphne and Alina sitting at a table.

"Hey guys my mother told me to wait out here with you both," Harry announced to the two girls as he sat down at the table they were sitting at. Daphne ignored him and Alina smiled, but neither one of them said anything back. In an attempt to break the awkward silence he continued. "Sooo Alina, what type of wand chose you?" he asked her.

"Nine inches, black willow wood, and unicorn hair," Alina answered back sounding excited. She took it out of her pocket to show it off to him.

"How many wands did it take to find yours? It took me about seven before I finally got mine," he asked.

"I got mine first try. Ollivander said that was really rare too. What type of wand do you have Harry? I never asked before," she asked him curiously.

"I have an eleven inch, brown holly wood, with a phoenix tail feather core," he answered Alina. "So are you excited for Hogwarts? Do you have a subject you are most interested in?"

"Yeah, I am excited, I'm sure you could tell that I've been ready to go for years now. And I'm not sure, they all seem so interesting. I guess I'm excited to learn charms and dueling though," Alina answered.

"You are only interested in dueling because of the dueling tournament and Marik. A week before then you said that you were going to out-brew me in potions and be the best potions student," Daphne said sharply to her sister.

"That is n…" Alina started to answer as she was blushing back but was interrupted.

"Well if it isn't Hogwarts' two biggest blood traitors. Don't tell me the old man is going to allow another one into the school," Harry recognized the voice immediately as Draco Malfoy's before he even turned around. No one's voice in the world made him angrier than Draco's did.

"Shut it Draco," Daphne shouted from across the table.

"Leave us alone, Malfoy. I have been writing letters to your _good_ friend Hermione all summer. Don't make me add your name in the next one," Harry added and Draco went paler than normal.

"Now, now, now Draco, I turn my back for one second and you go get yourself into trouble," Harry turned to look at the new voice to their conversation. The man was no doubt Draco's father from his appearance. Draco looked like an exact replica of his father just shorter in height and hair length. Harry immediately hated the man to. "Please Draco, don't be rude, introduce me to your _friends_."

"That's Daphne Black. I don't know who _this_ girl is. And that's Harry _Potter_ ," Malfoy announced. Draco spat when he announced his last name.

"Ahh so I finally get to put a face to the names Draco has talked about. Daphne I hope you being sorted into Slytherin means you will take more after your real father rather than Sirius," Draco's father said to Daphne. "And Mr. Potter…" Draco's father started to continue.

"I think it is time for you to leave, Lucius," Harry heard Sirius shout from behind them. Harry turned around to see their parents had emerged from the store. None of them looked happy to see the Malfoys there.

"Of course, Mr. Black. Draco was just introducing me to some of his schoolmates. Come Draco, it smells too much like dog in this part of town," Draco's father walked towards his parents as he and Draco left. Draco's father made it a point to shoulder Sirius as he left. He definitely understood were Draco got his genes from.

"Ugh I hate him so much! I can't believe they are letting him come back to school this year!" Harry shouted in anger.

"Well is everyone ready to go?" his mother changed the topic.

"Yeah!" the three of them at the table answered in unison. Harry was ready to get as far away as he could from Malfoy.

They made their way away from the shops with all of their bags towards the portkey entrance and exit part of Diagon Alley. After they waited a few minutes for the rubber duck to start glowing again everyone grabbed on and they were brought back to the Black house. As soon as they landed he started off towards the room he was staying at to start reading his new book.

"Dinner is in an hour, Harry!" his mother shouted at him as he made his way up the stairs. He ran down the hall and flew into his room slamming the door probably a little too hard as he did so.

"Harry Potter!" a voice from inside his room said causing him to almost jump out of his skin in shock. He turned around quickly frightened to see that it was only Sirius's house elf.

"Jeez Kreacher, you scared me," Harry said as he caught his breath.

"I am not being Kreacher, Mr. Harry Potter Sir. My name is Dobby. Dobby the house elf, Harry Potter Sir. It is an honor to meet you Sir," the house elf said.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know Sirius had another house elf. Nice to meet you Dobby. What can I do for you?" He asked the house elf named Dobby who now looked like it had seen a ghost.

"Mr. Harry Potter Sir, apologizes to Dobby? What can Sir do for Dobby?" The house elf fell onto its knees and started wailing with tears. "Harry Potter sir is too kind to Dobby," The elf continued crying before it blew its nose into its shirt.

"Uhhh. Dobby, why are you crying? I'm sorry if I offended you," Harry said not sure what was going on.

"Offend Dobby? Dobby has never had a wizard ask what they can do for Dobby. Mr. Harry Potter Sir, is the first to ever say he is sorry Dobby," The house elf continued crying.

"Uhhh. . . Sirius doesn't treat you that bad I'm sure," Harry said.

"Mr. Black is not Dobby's master Sir," Dobby replied.

"Please stop calling me that. Just call me Harry," That seemed to make things worse as the elf started crying harder and began banging its head on a nearby dresser. "Uhhh…" He had no idea what to do. "Well who is your master Dobby? And why are you here?" he asked the house elf trying to get it to stop crying and hitting itself.

"Dobby cannot say who his master is. Dobby is being a bad house elf being here. If Dobby's master found out Dobby was being here Dobby would be punished and then. . ." the house elf gulped loudly. " _Killed._ But Dobby had to tell Mr. Harry Potter Sir," The house elf picked up a nearby book and started hitting itself in the head with it.

"Dobby stop that! What did you need to tell me?" he asked curiously.

"Dobby needed to tell Mr. Harry Potter sir… Harry… Sir… That he cannot return to Hogwarts this year. It is not safe for him," the house elf said through cries.

"What? Why isn't Hogwarts safe for me?" he shouted at the elf.

"Dobby is bound by magic to not say anymore. Dobby only knows that there is a plan for very very bad things to happen at Hogwarts," the house elf answered.

"Well you have to tell me Dobby! There is no way that I am not going to Hogwarts; all of my friends will be there. Just tell me so I can stop the plan or tell someone," Harry shouted again.

"Harry Potter sir, _must_ not go to Hogwarts or he will be in grave danger…" the house elf continued. He was just about to fire off another question when the room to his door opened.

"Who are you talking to?" Daphne asked from his doorway.

"No one. I was just…" he was too distracted to think of a lie. He looked around to see that the house elf was nowhere to be found in his room.

"I will never understand how someone so weird managed to beat me. Here," Daphne extended out her hand which held some letters. "A post owl just brought these," She handed him the two letters.

"Thanks Daphne," he said to her as he took the letters.

"Hmmpf," was all Daphne responded with as she turned and left his room. Checking around once she left Harry could not find the house elf anywhere. He waited a few minutes to see if it might reappear but it never did.

What was Dobby talking about? Why wouldn't Hogwarts be safe? Would it not be safe for everyone or just him? What was this plan? These questions and a hundred others flooded his mind. He looked down at the letters as he thought all of these things over to see that he had received a letter from both Hermione and Marik. They were most likely about their grades. Should he write back and tell them what Dobby had said? Did he even really know what Dobby had said?

No, he would not tell them. He would just keep an extra eye open. He had chosen not to bother telling them that Voldemort was possessing Quirrell and he would not bother them with this. He cherished his two friends. Telling them that a mad dark wizard may eventually come after him or that a weird house elf told him he couldn't come to school would only risk their friendship with him and make them worry too much. He would not lose his friends.

Why did stuff like this always happen to him? He just wanted to be normal, and enjoy his time at Hogwarts with Hermione and Marik, but between Voldemort and now house elves that was starting to get more difficult. All of this thinking was starting to put him in a bad mood. He needed to just let this go; he had a lot of research to work on tonight and would not let a crazy house elf ruin his progress. In an attempt to distract himself from his thoughts he opened the first letter from Hermione.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I apologize for my poor handwriting in this letter but my hands haven't stopped shaking all day! Congratulations on your marks! I am so proud of you! I expected that you would get an 'M' in transfiguration and Astronomy but actually seeing it makes me so happy for you. I don't remember McGonagall saying anything either to you or us this year. Whatever she means by 'her decision' I think it is best that you make sure you are ahead in transfiguration before school starts. If you find out anything more you better write me._

 _As to your second question France is still going good. We ordered all of my books as soon as we got my class schedule from a wizard shop in Paris. Luckily I still have a few books I haven't read to keep me busy while I wait for them to arrive, although my parents are making it hard to study so far! I saw the Fleur girl from the dueling tournament a few days ago while we were shopping in the city and talked with her for a little while. She is actually really nice and really smart. We didn't get to talk for too long but I can certainly see how she put up that good of a fight with Marik._

 _Anyways! I attached a copy of my marks to the second page. I was surprised at them. I thought for sure you had me in History of magic. We will be traveling over the next week so I won't be able to write that much but when I get back I expect you to write me! I miss you Harry, and cannot wait to see you again when school starts. Happy early birthday by the way. When your mom gives you your presents mine is the one with the blue wrapping paper and the red bow. Don't throw away that bow, I want it back! I hope you like it._

 _Your friend,_

 _Hermione_

Harry couldn't help but smile at Hermione's letter, an effect that seemed to happen every time she wrote him no matter how he was feeling. After he finished the letter he quickly went to the second page to see her marks:

 _First year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _M_ _1_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _4_

 _Transfiguration:_ _O_ _3_

 _Potions:_ _M_ _1_

 _Dark Arts:_ _O_ _3_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _2_

 _Spell Creation:_ _O_ _3_

 _Overall Student Rank: 2_

"Wow!" he said out loud as he looked over her grade report. Hermione had managed to get two ' _M_ ' marks, and an ' _O_ ' in all of her other classes. She was also ranked in the top five in every one of her classes. As amazing as her grades were he was not surprised at all. Hermione was consistent in every class. He was proud of her he and how well she had done; still he could not help but feel a little jealous at the fact that she had received a better ranking than him. It was just more motivation for next year though.

After finishing with Hermione's letter he opened up and started reading Marik's letter:

 _Harry,_

 _First off congratulations on your marks. All that hard work and time seems to have paid off. I saw Hermione's report as well and it looks like besides 'her-boring-ology' the three of us managed to snag the 'M' in every course. Plus we are the top three in the school for our year! We need to come up with a badass team name! Your dad and his friends were the marauders right? We need something cool like that for when people talk about the best three students in school! Maybe something like Ose's Obliterators or something. We should be proud and do something to celebrate when we get to school. I am even more excited for the opening ceremony now._

 _I already wrote to Hermione telling her the same thing so don't worry about writing her comparing notes or anything. I promise that I am not lying when I told you both that I honestly have no idea what happened at the dueling tournament. I did not cast any spell to make what happened happen. One second I was in a sand tornado staring at one of Fleur's oncoming spells, the next I was standing there staring at her body fly across the stage._

 _I have been researching everything I can though trying to figure out what happened. Unfortunately I can't try to practice it again until school starts, so for now I'm stuck. If you come across anything that might help me figure out what happened let me know. From what you both told me happened it sounds like it was amazing magic and I certainly want to learn how I actually did it. Also if anyone asks, I totally know how I did it!_

 _Anyways this is probably the longest letter I have ever written in my life and my hand hurts. I will try and write again before the summer is done but no promises! My mother said she mailed your mother the birthday present I got for you, so I hope you like it. I look forward to getting the gang back together soon, my parents are driving me crazy! Also, thanks for sending me that book your dad recommended on transfiguration magic. I'm almost done with it! My grades are on the second letter attached._

 _Your friend,_

 _Marik_

Harry turned to the second letter to see Marik's grades:

 _First year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _4_

 _Charms:_ _M_ _1_

 _Transfiguration:_ _O_ _2_

 _Potions:_ _A_ _10_

 _Dark Arts:_ _M_ _1_

 _Herbology:_ _A_ _22_

 _Spell Creation:_ _M_ _1_

 _Overall Student Rank: 1_

"Wow," Harry found himself saying out loud again. Marik had to no surprise been ranked the number one student in their year. He had also managed to beat both Hermione and him by getting three ' _M_ ' marks to their two. Harry couldn't help but laugh at Marik's herbology score. Even without doing an end of year project for the class he had still managed to be ranked in the top twenty-five students. Although Hermione's and Daphne's grades were more consistent across the board, Marik's rank at the top was most likely due to his overall ability grade and receiving three ' _M_ ' grades.

Marik was right. The three of them should be proud. They had all achieved what they set out to do at the beginning of the year. They had proved to everyone that they were the top three witches and wizards in their class, and they really did need a cool name! No way in hell were they going with _Marik's obliterators_ though. Now they just had to keep their position at the top. That meant that they would have to put even more time and effort into this year.

Harry didn't want to just be complacent with his spot in third place though. He wanted to take first place from Marik and knew that he would have to outwork everyone else in the school to get there, so it was time to start now. He put the two letters on his nightstand and picked up the _Rare Magiks_ book he had just got earlier that day in Diagon Alley. He pulled out all of his notes on _occlumency_ and _legilimency_ from his bag and spread them out over his desk. It was time to start pushing himself and all his magic to the limit, and his new book was the perfect place to start.

* * *

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	14. Book2: Chapter 3

**Alina**

The scarlet steam engine was waiting next to the platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. A few feet in front of her was the famous wrought-iron archway where the barrier was, with the words _Platform Nine and Three-Quarters_ on it. Although she had seen both once before this time was much sweeter, this time she had done it.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

This view had been magical the first time she had seen it a year ago when Daphne was starting her first year. It had been a view filled with mystery, almost like a fantasy world that she felt as if she would never reach. Now though the mystery seemed to have vanished from the scene leaving only the magic behind. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen in her life.

"Alina darling if you let your jaw drop any further you are going to start drooling in front of everyone," her mother said laughing a little. Alina was kicked out of her daze and in a rushed panic checked to make sure there was no drool.

"So I take it from your reaction that you aren't excited to go. Well I guess we can try again next year," her father said sarcastically.

"Not funny dad! It just doesn't feel real ya know? I feel like I'm just seeing Daphne off again," she replied to her parents as she watched a large red-headed family burst through the barrier and begin to exchange goodbye hugs.

"Want me to pinch you?" her mother asked, and gave her a quick pinch on the arm before she could answer.

"Ouch mom! That hurt!" she shouted, rubbing the spot on her arm.

"Guess that means you're not dreaming," her mother said, a grin on her face.

"I guess so," Alina replied.

"You're so over dramatic," Daphne said, rolling her eyes as she picked up her luggage.

"Am not!" she tried to argue. She knew it was pointless trying to with her sis though.

"Remember this moment Alina. When times get tough or things get down you can always come back to this moment and bask in the memories of the magic and awe of emotions that you feel today. This was one of the happiest days of my life when I was your age, so you should make sure you relish in it and enjoy it. Great things begin here for you sweetie," her father said. She turned to face him, tears forming in her eyes from his words.

"Daddy are you crying?" she asked him as she saw water in his eyes. That only made her harder.

"Just got something in my eye is all!" He tried to play it off but she could tell he was crying. She closed the small gap between them and engulfed him in the biggest hug that she could, trying her best to say thank you and I love you with her arms.

"I love you dad. Thank you for everything," she told him with a smile, not caring that she was still crying in front of all her potential classmates and probably embarrassing herself.

"I love you too Alina. Now go on before you miss the train and this was all for nothing," he told her, patting her on the head as he let her go.

"Bye mom, I love you." she turned to give her mother a hug and began to try and stop her tears.

"I love you too sweetie. Make sure you write us soon and let us know how things are going. And be nice to your sister," her mother told her.

"I promise I will," she replied, and picked up her luggage. "Well here goes nothing!" she said with a final goodbye wave to both of her parents and followed Daphne onto the Hogwarts Express.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Alina dragged her luggage behind her as she followed Daphne down the train in search of an empty compartment.

They pressed on through the crowd of students in the walkway until Daphne found an empty compartment near the end of the train. She heaved her luggage over her shoulder and lifted it up onto the rack over their seats. Alina rushed to the seat next to the wind so she could watch the still bustling platform. The large red-headed family from earlier were still hugging each other and saying goodbyes a few feet away from her window, she imagined it would take quite a long time to say goodbye to that many people.

"Alina," Daphne broke the silence in their compartment after a few moments.

"Yeah sis?" She turned from the window to face Daphne.

"I wanted to say this now before we set off. I am proud of you for getting here and for all the work you put in getting to this moment," Daphne said to her. That might have been one of the sweetest things her sister had ever told her before.

"Sis. . ." she started to say something but more tears started to form and made it hard to speak.

"With that being said, I also worked hard getting to where I am now. So please don't embarrass me or do anything stupid." Now that sounded a lot more like her sister.

"I won't Daphne jeez!" She rolled her eyes and turned her head back out the window.

The train began to move. Alina saw the parents of the red-headed family along with all of the other families waving their goodbyes as the train lurched forward. She felt a familiar feeling of sympathy as she watched a small black-haired girl half-laughing, half-crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed. That had been her only a year ago.

Alina waved back one more time as she watched her mother and father disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Alina felt another great leap of excitement. She didn't know what she was going to - but she was sure it was going to be something great.

The door to their compartment slid open and two girls in Slytherin robes came in.

"Daphne!" both the girls said in unison as they entered and gave her sister a quick hug before they took the remaining two open seats. Both of them seemed to not notice that she was sitting in the compartment too.

"We missed you!" the girl next to Daphne said, sounding genuine.

"Are you excited to be back?" the other girl asked. Alina had a hard time believing Daphne enjoyed being with girls this peppy.

"Yes, I am. Pansy, Rachel this is my sister Alina. Alina this is Pansy Parkinson and Rachel Toombs. They are both Slytherins in my year. Alina is starting her first year this year." Daphne introduced everyone.

"Ooh that is so exciting! Are you nervous at all?" the girl named Pansy asked her.

"A little bit yeah," she answered.

"Well, I'm sure if you are half as good as your sister than you will be fine," the girl named Rachel interjected.

"Mhmm." Alina rolled her eyes. That complement was probably the reason Daphne enjoyed being with these girls, they were groupies.

"So Daphne me and Rachel were hanging out this summer and we ran into Malfoy. Did you know he is coming back to school this year? His father apparently got his suspension appealed." The girl named Pansy started up the new conversation.

Over the next hour her sister and her _groupies_ made small talk about random things, all of which Alina had zero interest in. She tried to dig into one of the books she had packed for the ride but it was impossible to read when every so many minutes their compartment was filled with the annoying Pansy girl's laugh. So after a few failed attempts trying she settled for just looking out the window and counting sheep.

It was starting to get dark she could see as she peered out the window. She could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. It was a beautiful sight, and after a few minutes of staring at the mountains in awe it felt as if the train was slowing down.

Alina stood up and pulled on her robes as a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

The train slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the doors and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Alina shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and a large booming voice called out.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a man who looked like a giant called out over the sea of shorter students.

"Follow him Alina. And good luck on your sorting," Daphne whispered into her ear as she disappeared into a different direction with her friends.

Slipping and stumbling, they followed the half-giant down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Alina thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," The half-giant called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud _Oooooh_ as they all walked forwards.

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky. It was beautiful. The most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

They were all escorted into small boats in groups of four where they were then pushed off into the lake. Out on the water there was a silent bliss that she immediately fell in love with. You could hear the waves crashing into the boats like drums and the wind skimming across the surface like a song made from nature. Added with the magic of the castle the scenery nearly brought tears to her eyes, it was almost too much to handle.

The boat ride was over unfortunately a little too quickly. She had been hoping to stay out on the water for a while, and get to experience its blissfulness a little longer. Once they docked ashore they were lead by a ragged looking man carrying a lantern up to the large front gate of the castle and into the school.

Alina relished the moment she took her first step into the school. She was finally inside Hogwarts. She was finally here!

Her moment of jubilation was short lived though as once again their group was ushered further into the castle until they arrived at two large doors. A tall black-haired witch Alina recognized as Professor McGonagall was waiting outside the doors for them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your hoses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each house has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours," said Professor McGonagall. "Now form a line."

Feeling oddly as though her legs had turned to lead, Alina got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, and they walked through the pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Alina had heard countless stories and descriptions of what the Great Hall looked like but never in a million years would she have been prepared for seeing it for the first time like this. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles, that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.

These tables were laid with glittering golden goblets and plates. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the professors were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candle light. All of the first years stood nervously planted to the floor as they waited on edge for something to happen.

After a few moments a stool floated its way in front of their large group. Out of thin air a large wizard's hat formed itself on the stool. The Sorting Hat stood itself up and began to sing.

 _A thousand years or more ago_

 _When I was newly sewn,_

 _There lived four wizards of renown,_

 _Whose names are still well known:_

 _Bold Gryffindor, from moor,_

 _Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_

 _Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_

 _Sharp Slytherin, from fen._

 _They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,_

 _They hatched a daring plan_

 _To educate young sorcerers_

 _Thus Hogwarts School began._

 _Now each of these four founders_

 _Formed their own house, for each_

 _Did value different virtues_

 _In the ones they had to teach._

 _By Gryffindor, the bravest were_

 _Prized far beyond the rest;_

 _For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_

 _Would always be the best;_

 _For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_

 _Most worthy of admission;_

 _And Slytherin, Loved those_

 _of aspiring ambition._

 _While still alive they did divide_

 _Their favourites from the throng,_

 _Yet how to pick the worthy ones_

 _When they were dead and gone?_

 _Twas Ravenclaw who found the way,_

 _She whipped me off her head_

 _The founders put some brains in me_

 _So I could choose instead!_

 _Now slip me snug about your ears,_

 _I've never yet been wrong,_

 _I'll have a look inside your mind_

 _And tell where you belong!_

She jumped at the sudden applause that followed the hat's speech. The four house tables around her had risen in applause as the hat bowed its pointed tip to the students. She stole a quick glance at the Slytherin table as it did. She could see her sister was applauding along with everyone else in the Hall.

 _Would she end up in Slytherin like her mother and sister had? Or would she take more after her father and end up in Gryffindor? Or would she be different and end up in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff?_ She couldn't help but wonder to herself. Whatever the decision about to be made was she was anxious for it to just hurry up and get made. She was too excited to rid the butterflies that had started their fluttering in her stomach on the as they entered the Hall.

 _Slytherin_ Something inside her head told her.

She wasn't against the idea of being in Slytherin. She knew first hand from her mother and sister that the Slytherin house produced good students, and she certainly knew she was going to be a good student. However, the idea of not being hidden under her sister's shadow all the time was intriguing to her.

If she was in Slytherin her sister would always be there. In Slytherin no matter what she did she would always be compared to her sister. Plus the Slytherin girls on the train had been kind of annoying. If she was in another house she would have more freedom to be herself and create a story of her own, and that sounded more appealing to her.

 _So maybe not Slytherin._ She thought to herself. Any of the other houses she would be okay with though. If she ended up in Gryffindor her dad would be so proud, although honestly he would be proud at just about anything she did. He always was. Plus Harry was in Gryffindor, so she would go into the house knowing someone. Although she wasn't sure how much Harry would enjoy sharing a house with his cousin, after all they weren't even that close.

Both Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff did not seem like a bad places to end up either. From everything she had read over the summer both houses had just as many stories of success as the other. Harry's friend, or girlfriend, whatever she really was, was in Ravenclaw if Alina remembered correctly and she seemed pretty smart.

"First Years listen up!" Professor McGonagall announced loudly resulting in silence filling the Hall and waking her from her train of thought. "I will call you up one at a time. When you hear your name called you will come up to the stool and place the sorting hat on your head. After you have been sorted you will find a seat at your house table," the professor announced.

"Franklin Adams!" The professor called out the first boy's name and he went up to the hat where he proceeded to be sorted into Ravenclaw. The first few names that were called were a blur to her. She was too anxious to really pay any attention. This was a moment she had been waiting on for seemingly forever and she wanted to know where she would end up already so the real magic could begin.

Coming to Hogwarts was everything to her. From when she was little, learning magic and getting her eventual start at Hogwarts had been what her entire life revolved around. Memories of the broomstick mobile that hung over her crib to the first time she had an accidental magic burst and set her dad's hair on fire. Ever since the beginning of her life magic had been a part of her life, and ever since she had learned of Hogwarts she had been anxious for this moment. Luckily since they were going alphabetically she would not have to wait long.

"Alina Black!" the professor announced her name. After taking a moment to prepare herself she made her way up to the stool at the center of the Hall. The old Hat was waiting with a slightly creepy smile as she approached it and placed it upon her head.

She laughed a little inside as she thought of all the jokes her father had told her about the Hat. Daphne had been so angry in her first letter when she found out the sorting hat did not actually speak in Spanish and dad had just been joking. It felt strange as the hat wriggled on her head. She could feel it almost moving around inside her brain.

" _Miss Alina Black… Interesting very interesting… Difficult yes… Your mind seems to me to be very. . . divided… You seem very. . . split on things… hmm. . . How strange. . . A part of you strongly wishes to be in Slytherin…I see that with every part of you that you are ambitious and dedicated to becoming something of your own… Slytherin would help you achieve your ambitions, and achieve the greatness you desire. . . I see though that more than this that you value loyalty to your family above everything. . . But yet you wish to be sorted in a different house than your sister. . . Well with that hmm… You already have a dedication to magic that few have so young…_ " the hat was said to her.

 _Slytherin…_ She found herself thinking to the hat.

" _Slytherin you say?_ " the hat asked.

"Wait no I didn't mean that, I don't know what I was thinking. Not Slytherin!" she said to the hat confused.

" _Hmm your mind is quite the puzzle Miss Alina…Quite the puzzle. . . Well Miss Alina I think with all this in mind, no pun intended, that it better be… Hufflepuff!"_ the hat announced its decision to the whole Hall.

The Hufflepuff section of students immediately rose to their feet following the announcement of her name. She couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face as she made her way over to the table and all of the students greeted her and welcomed her in. She was having such a rush of emotions that she ended up forgetting all the student's names who greeted her. It was all still so surreal and was almost impossible to believe that this was all actually finally happening. After she had shook all the stretched out hands around her she found a seat at the middle of the table next to another first year Hufflepuff boy.

As she sat down she finally was able to relax as the butterflies began to settle down their fluttering in her stomach. She was a Hufflepuff! But even better than that she was finally a student at Hogwarts! All of her dreams were slowly coming true! Her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiling she was doing.

After the greetings stopped and the sorting ceremony continued she could not help but turn her eyes to where her sister was sitting. When she found her sister she was met by an icy glare. Daphne was apparently disappointed that she had ended up in Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin. A part of her felt the same disappointment for some reason. She averted her eyes from her sister and back to the sorting ceremony.

Most of her was happy for the house the Hat sorted her into though. She had been dreaming of coming to Hogwarts ever since her parents had told her about magic. She figured that her dream was different than her sisters and her parent's though, so it was only right her house be different than theirs too. There was no denying that she wanted to be the best witch in her year during her time at Hogwarts just like her mother and Daphne had wanted, and she certainly wanted to out perform Daphne. But unlike them she wanted to be the best so she could create her own story.

Daphne was all about living up to their mother's standards and doing everything to make their mother proud. While she certainly wanted her mother to be proud of what she did, unlike Daphne, her desire to be the best and learn everything she could was more focused on filling her curiosity of all things magic and not making her parents proud. She figured she took after her father more in this way.

Her father was every bit as talented as her mother was, the only difference was he did magic to fulfill his own happiness and the happiness of those around him. And from all the stories he had told her growing up he certainly had not learned and practiced magic to make his parents proud. She looked at magic in much of the same light as he did, although thankfully she was more interested in the academic side of magic and did not have his same passions for pranks and jokes. And now she finally had her chance to begin her story! And Hufflepuff house would be where that story began.

The rest of the sorting ceremony went by fairly quickly. She did not know any of the students in her year outside of a sibling to one of Daphne's friends from the train so she found herself mainly just staring at the professors as the ceremony took place instead of paying attention. It was a good time passer until one of the professors awkwardly made eye contact with her. She had tried to pretend she had been looking at the wall behind the professor in hopes that he would look away but he never did so she was forced to awkwardly move her eyes back to the Hat on the stool. A little while after the awkward eye contact incident the sorting ceremony was over and the Headmaster made his way to the center podium.

"Welcome and congratulations to all of our new first year Hogwarts students. We wish you all the best of luck and the greatest of magic. Now before we start the feast we will first begin the Special Recognition Award Ceremony. Professor McGonagall will announce last year's first year honors." the Headmaster announced to the Hall and the Professor McGonagall made her way to the podium.

"While I am announcing the following honors we ask that if your name is called that you please come up to the front of the teacher's table. First I will begin with subject awards. In Herbology the student who received the title of Master of the course was Neville Longbottom," the professor announced the boy's name and the Gryffindor table erupted into applause. The second year boy looked like he was seeing a ghost as he made his way slowly to where the professor had announced for the students to stand. The professor smiled proudly at the pale boy and continued her announcement once he arrived.

"In history of magic the student who received the title of Master for the course was Hermione Granger," the professor announced the second name, which was a name that Alina actually recognized. Hermione made her way up to where Professor McGonagall was standing, a large smile beaming on her face.

The Ravenclaw section along with two other students had risen to applaud her. She recognized the other two non-Ravenclaw students who were standing. One was her cousin Harry, who had made it obvious over the summer that he had a thing for Hermione, so it was no surprise to find him cheering for her. They were such a thing! The other was the Marik boy who was one of the winners in the dueling tournament and from what Harry had told her the guy who beat him and Daphne in the Hogwarts dueling tournament. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face at seeing the two boys cheer for their friend. The professor cleared her throat and continued.

"In potions the student who received the title of Master in this course also was Hermione Granger." The same students who had risen before rose again to applaud her for her second mastery honor. Hermione seemed to be blushing at all the applause. "Due to your abilities shown in the course combined with your grade and end of year project Professor Snape has deemed you worthy of receiving private lessons this year on the subject with him. As well the Ministry of Magic has offered you a research grant to begin further research into the course beyond your studies here at Hogwarts, in the hopes of you making new discoveries in the field," Professor McGonagall finished saying.

Hermione now resembled the pale Neville boy next to her following this announcement. Her face was a mixture between shock and excitement, both fighting for dominance. All of the previously standing students took to their feet a third time to applaud the girl. She noted that Daphne looked pissed on the other side of the Hall. For some reason that made her a little bit happy to see.

"In Astronomy the student who received the title of Master for the course was Harry Potter." The Gryffindor section erupted into applause. She couldn't help but stand up and clap along with them for her cousin. Yeah they were not close by any means, but he was still kind of family.

Harry was greeted by a congratulatory hug from Hermione as he made his way to where they were standing. Hermione began to blush again when students started whistling around the Hall as a result of their hug.

"Professor Sinistra has asked that you continue to work on and better your end of year project this year and that he is excited to see where you take it. In Transfiguration the student who received the title of Master in the course was also Harry Potter," the professor announced and again the Gryffindor section began applauding. The Marik boy from the tournament was also giving a standing ovation from the Slytherin section, although he was the only happy Slytherin among a sea of angry snakes.

"Due to your performance and abilities shown in the course, _I_ have decided to give you private lessons in the course throughout the year. Do _not_ disappoint me Mr. Potter!" Harry joined the pale face club as the professor announced this. The Hermione girl wrapped him in another hug. Both of their faces went from white to red as a result of more whistles that could be heard coming from the house tables, specifically from two redheaded boys at the Gryffindor table. Alina laughed at her cousin's reaction.

"In charms, the student who received the title of Master in this course was Marik Ose." Part of the Slytherin section erupted into applause at the announcement of the boy's name. However the entire section around her sister remained seated. The boy also received applause from small groups of students from each of the other house tables as he made his way to the front of the Hall.

"Due to your performance and abilities shown throughout the course along with your victory in the European Magic Students Dueling Championship Professor Flitwick has decided that he will be giving you private lessons in both charms _and_ dueling throughout the year." Unlike the other students who had gone pale following their announcements the Marik boy kept the same smirk on his face the entire time. It was a cute smirk. He also received a congratulatory hug from Hermione as well as a friendly handshake from Harry.

She knew the three of them were good friends from what she had heard from Daphne and Harry, so it was no surprise to see how happy they looked up there on the stage together. It sort of reminded her of her dad and how he was with his friends. That had been part of the reason her family had decided to join the trip to France to see the dueling tournament. Her dad had to go wherever Harry's dad went after all.

After the incredible magic she had seen the Marik boy perform during that tournament over the summer it came as no surprise to learn he was the best charms student in his year. It had also explained why Daphne did not like him. She _slightly_ enjoyed seeing people beat her sister in something, whether that was wrong or not.

"In Spell creation the student who received the title of Master in the course was also Marik Ose," the professor announced the next course and again the Marik boy was engulfed in another hug from his two friends, luckily for Hermione's cheeks there were no whistles this time. "Due to your magic creations and ability shown in the course Professor Yarnsley has decided that he will be giving you private lessons in the course. As well the Ministry of Magic has awarded you with a research grant to further advance your studies," the professor announced and continued.

"Finally in dark arts the student who received the title of Master for the course was also Marik Ose." The students in the Hall erupted into applause another time and a groan could be heard from the Slytherin table. "Due to your performance shown in the class Professor Shacklebolt has decided to also provide you with private lessons over the year."

Wow! He had managed to get three Master scores! That was impressive. Daphne had worked her ass off last year and not even gotten one Master score. With all these private lessons the three of them were all sure going to be busy. It was certainly impressive to see who was the best students in each course were. She imagined it must feel good to be seen by everyone as the best in your year. She would have to make sure that her name would be one of the ones called for next year's award ceremony so she could find out.

"Congratulations to each of you for achieving the highest ranks in each of these courses. We would also like to acknowledge the top five ranked students in the year. Ranked fifth in the first year class was Cho Chang. Fourth was Daphne Black. Third was Harry Potter. Second was Hermione Granger. And the top ranked first year student was Marik Ose." The entire Hall erupted one last time in the loudest burst of applause yet. Her sister and the Cho girl made their way up to where the rest of the students were standing. Her sister still looked pissed.

"As a reward for your excellence each of you have earned 100 points for your house for the start of this year." More cheers followed this announcement. "To all of you the best of luck in your second year courses. We all expect continued excellence, greater magic, and that you all continue to strive to be the best. For the remainder of you we hope that this year you aim to surpass these students and that next year we will have the opportunity to call out your name," Professor McGonagall finished her announcements and made her way back to the teacher's table.

The rest of the award ceremony for the remainder of years went by slowly. Her stomach had started to growl in hunger at the announcement of each students name for the remainder of the award ceremony. As much as she hated how long it took and how hungry she was getting while waiting for it to end, the ceremony was quite inspiring.

She had been waiting for her chance to become a great witch since she got her first toy wand for christmas. Now her opportunity was finally here. All her work, studying, and reading growing up was all in preparation for this. She would be one of those top ranked students soon. Even her sister would not be as good as she would be. She had already been motivated coming into Hogwarts and the award ceremony only added to that motivation.

The award ceremony finally ended and the feast thankfully began. She was much too hungry to talk to the students around her and immediately dove into the nearby bread basket and butter on the table; only pausing between bites a few times to answer a question here and there from another first year near her.

After the feast and a few more quick announcements from Dumbledore the opening ceremony ended and the students all made their way to their common rooms. She was excited to learn that the Hufflepuff common room was only a short walk away from the Great Hall and right next to Hogwart's kitchens. Nothing was better than studying next to a fire with some snacks and she would have easy access to both here!

The Hufflepuff Prefect went over their password of entry and a few different rules before letting them all go free. Upon arrival to the Hufflepuff girls' dorm she found her luggage on a bed next to a window at the far end of the first years girl's dormitory. Still feeling the motivation from the award ceremony she decided unpacking could wait until another time. Tonight she would continue reading her school books to get ready for classes tomorrow.

She ruffled through her luggage, finding her pajamas, books, and her diary and got into bed. There was no way she would be able to sleep tonight with all of this excitement. So instead of sleep her night would be filled with transfiguration and charms. After all it was only a few more hours until she finally got to start her first classes at Hogwarts!

 _Soon._ She thought to herself.

She set down her school books and grabbed the other book she had brought to bed. Before she forgot any of the day's magical events she opened up her diary to make sure she got down every little detail of the day. She titled the entry of the page for today's date, The Beginning. It was a fitting title she thought. Today was the beginning. The beginning of her time at Hogwarts and in Hufflepuff, the beginning of of her magical career, and most importantly the beginning of her story.

* * *

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	15. Book2: Chapter 4

**Harry**

"Ugh It is another letter from the Ministry." Marik took the letter from the barn owl in the window on the other side of the room and began reading it.

"What do they want this time?" Hermione asked Marik.

"Do they want a photo with your shirt off this time? The last one you sent was cute but I hear the readers want more," he joked, earning a glare from his friend.

"Screw you Harry. It was a V-neck! And Hermione said it looked nice! I didn't realise it was that long of a V-neck! Anyways, it says the Minister of Magic is coming to Hogwarts in a few weeks and wants to do an interview and photoshoot with me," Marik said with distasteful grin on his face.

"Wow that is impressive. The Minister of Magic wants to interview you? What for?" he asked Marik.

"Apparently for some publicity thing for the EMSDC. Ughhh, is it legal for me to write the Minister back and tell him I would like to pass, or will they send me to Azkaban?" Marik asked them.

"Why would you want to pass? This is a huge honor," Hermione asked Marik.

"And they probably would arrest you," he added.

"I don't have time to meet with him! I barely even have time for sleep," Marik answered, looking exhausted. The bags under his eyes had become a permanent addition to his face this school year. It wasn't just him though, they all looked a lot more tired this year compared to last.

"Flitwick has me doing charms lessons twice a week and researching charms spells that even Hogwart's library doesn't have books on the remainder of the week. Plus I have my dueling practice sessions with him once a week, and that takes up an entire afternoon!

"Then I have my private dark arts lessons with Kingsley on my other two free days during the school week. My only free days are my weekends and there not even free since I am having to finish all my school work on Saturday and Professor Yarnsley has me working on my spell creation magic with him practically all day Sunday. I am barely keeping up with my classes and I haven't even began to think about end of year projects. . . I'm gonna die," Marik finished ranting and let his head fall to the table with a loud thud.

"Trust me Marik, Harry and I _completely_ understand. Snape has me brewing potions that even fifth years can't brew yet and writing reports longer than some of my books. But you can't pass on the Minister of Magic, that is like blowing off the Queen," Hermione said to Marik.

"You do remember that I was born in America right Hermione? I don't really care too much for the Queen," Marik responded and Hermione scoffed.

"Still Marik you can't pass on him. Dumbledore told you when you won the tournament that you would have to do some publicity events with the Ministry. Plus last year we all practically begged for private lessons. You should be happy your getting the extra attention and not complaining. By the way, speaking of spell creation have you made any progress in replicating whatever you did during the tournament yet? I know you said you were going to try soon," he asked Marik.

"I haven't even been able to try and do it yet. I was hoping I could practice it during my free time or during my lessons with Professor Yarnsley. But he has me researching muggle maths instead of working on my magic right now. He says _solving math problems will help you solve spell problems and create solutions with your spell creations._ " Marik tried to do his best Yarnsley impersonation with his head still face down on the table.

"Well he does have a point you know. I completely see where he is coming from," Hermione chimed in from the other side of the table.

"Mmppfff," was all Marik replied with. Harry laughed a little at the sight of his friend exhausted laying on the table. Even though he was only getting private lessons with McGonagall throughout the week he understood how much of your time they took up. Especially since they all were sharing all of their notes from their private lessons amongst each other, which meant even if you did have free time you were using it to copy someone's notes to keep up. Harry had barely been even able to keep us with his _occlumency_ and _legilimency_ practice so far with how busy things were. He turned his attention back to the notes Marik had shared with he and Hermione.

"So have you actually cast this _aisu meiku_ spell with Flitwick yet or have you just been researching it?" he asked Marik as he finished copying the last of Marik's notes from Flitwick's charms lessons.

"No I haven't tried it yet. If you read further you will see that is just the base incantation for the type of magic. The actual ice magic spells play off of it," Marik answered, still with his face down on the table.

"Ice magic seems pretty interesting. I can imagine why Flitwick would have you learn it for dueling. You could use it for all sorts of tactics both offensive and defensive," Hermione started. "Thanks for sharing these notes with us again Marik."

"You don't have to thank me every time I give you my notes Hermione. We all made a deal to share all our notes from our private lessons. You share us your potion notes from Snape, Harry shares his transfiguration notes from McGonagall, and I share my notes," Marik replied.

"Still, thank you. I haven't been able to read ahead to much in charms this year so these notes have been a lifesaver," Hermione said, turning a page from the section of charms notes she was copying.

 _Ding!_ He and Hermione jumped as the timer on the table went off.

"Finally," Hermione said, her voice sounding excited. "Okay, I just have to add the grim scales and then I am done," Hermione added as she added the last few ingredients to her potion.

"What is it that you are even brewing? I never did ask," Marik asked barely lifting his head from the desk as he curiously watched Hermione brew.

It was no surprise that Marik didn't know what potion Hermione was brewing, in truth he had not known either and had felt too bad for not knowing to ask. The three of them had barely spent anytime together so far this year. Nothing bad had happened between them, it was just now with all of their private lessons they were just too busy for all of them to get into the same room at the same time. Most of the times so far in the year it was just two of them in their small little potions lab at a time. This had been one of the few moments they had managed to even snag a few quick minutes together since their first day back.

"It is a _replenishing potion_. It helps rejuvenate some of the magic that is lost during duels, spell casting, and during injuries," Hermione answered as she put the last few stirs in.

"Oh wow, that is pretty cool. I take it that is an upper level potion since I can't remember reading anything about it," Marik said looking interested.

"You need to brew us one that will rejuvenate energy next, I could use something like that this year. I have to pull another all nighter tonight and I don't know how I am going to make it," he added, dreading having to stay up all night later. All nighters were a necessity though if he expected to keep up with the workload McGonagall was giving him. Transfiguration class was hard, transfiguration private lessons with McGonagall were damn near impossible.

"Yes, Hermione please do that! I will pay you!" Marik begged Hermione.

"How would you pay me Marik? You don't have a job?" Hermione asked as she brewed her potion.

"You can have my research grant money, it's not like I have time to put it to any good use anyways at this rate," Marik offered.

"That is your money to do research on spell creations Marik, I am not going to take it to sell you potions. I think a _pep-up potion_ is on Snape's list for me anyways later this year so if you just wait a little while and don't annoy me too much maybe I will make you and Harry an extra batch! In the meantime they make a great thing called coffee if you need some energy!" Hermione said, rolling her eyes at the two of them.

"Yes mam!" Marik replied sarcastically.

"All done!" Hermione said as she poured the potion out of the cauldron into a nearby flask.

"Congrats Hermione," he said to her, impressed that she had already managed to finish another potion.

"Thanks Harry," Hermione answered with a smile on her face.

"What are you up to for the rest of the afternoon now that you're done?" Marik asked her.

"McGonagall wants Harry to get the first stage of his ritual _animagus_ spell down, so we were going to work on that the rest of the afternoon since Snape cancelled my lessons later this afternoon," Hermione answered Marik, sounding disappointed at missing her lessons.

"Ritual _animagus_ spell? What does it do?" Marik asked him.

"Its part of the eventual full _animagus_ transfiguration spell. You have to build on and add layers to your ritual as you progress. Right now my ritual just has my hands transfiguration in it. Today I am going to try and add my feet into it," Harry answered.

He was excited to continue work on his _animagus_ transformation. He had been listening to his mother's advice so far this year and fueling his personal motivations of trying to be more well rounded in all of his classes. He had divided his time fairly equally among all of his classes and studies so far. To make it possible though he unfortunately was losing a few hours of sleep each night. While it felt good to be doing better in all of his other classes nothing was quite as good as coming back to a subject like transfiguration that he was good at.

While he was doing a much better job of not solely focusing on one subject like he had done a lot of last year, he still spent a lot of his free time working on his _occlumency_ and _legilimency_. He had spent most of the day prior to now failing to make much progress on his two mind magics so it would feel good to do some magic he knew he was already good at.

"That sounds so cool. I didn't realise it was a staged ritual spell like that. I always thought it was just one difficult spell. I'm so out of the loop with all this work now I didn't even know you were working on it Harry. I'm sorry man that I didn't know," Marik said. His usual smile and smirk could not be found on his face.

"Screw it. I can take one day off from charms research! It's been forever since the three of us did something together, you guys mind if I stay and tag along to watch? Maybe I can help?" Marik asked them looking happy for the first time that day.

"Of course we don't mind Marik," Harry answered his friend. Marik was right, it really had been too long since the three of them had practiced together and it would feel good to have them all around for a day.

"Sweet! Well what do you have to do?" Marik asked. Hermione started putting away her brewing supplies in the potions lab cabinets. Snape had let her have the room again for this year so the trio had decided to make the room their designated hangout and practice room since one of them was practically always in it anyways.

"Well I just have to cast my normal _animagus_ spell. The difference is that instead of instantly releasing it I have to keep the spell active for as long as I can. While I am holding it active I have to cast another spell to add another layer to the ritual. The hardest part from what my research says is just maintaining focus throughout the spell. If I break focus before it is finished I have to go back to square one," he answered Marik.

"How long does adding another layer take?" Hermione asked from across the table.

"I'm not entirely sure. The book basically just says it takes as long as it takes you to finish the spell. So I guess it could go quick or take a while depending on me," he answered truthfully. McGonagall's explanation had basically been the same as the books. _Animagus_ magic could be quick or slow, it all hinged on the user's magic.

"I've never done any magic that requires you to hold a spell for a lengthy amount of time besides a few simple dueling spells that I can think of. This sounds interesting," Marik seemed to have gained some lost energy from his curiosity.

"So is there anything we can do to help?" Hermione asked.

"Hmm. Not that I can think of. I guess just keep me from getting distracted. I just mainly need you to help me take notes afterwards. Moving forward the ritual will get more difficult and I am going to need exact observation notes on how my personal ritual appears," he answered.

"So make lots of noise. Got it," Marik joked. Hermione leaned over the table to give him a quick jab.

"Ouch!" Marik shouted as she hit him. Harry couldn't help but smile as she did.

"Alright so first I am going to cast and hold the base transfiguration spell. Then I will hold it and try and add the second layer. So if both of you will just keep an eye on how everything looks we are good to go. Here goes nothing." He closed his eyes and concentrated as much as he could. Even the base transfiguration spell drew a lot of his magic from him so he needed his full concentration if this was going to work.

The base of the ritual would transfigure his hands into their _animagus_ form so for the rest of the ritual he would have to cast the magic wandlessly, which only made things a lot more difficult. To this point he had never cast or learned anything about wandless magic. Luckily for ritual spells like this one a wand wasn't that much more important since the majority of magic being done was mental magic. He hoped his work on mind magic would help him maintain a clear, focused mind. Giving one last effort to clear his mind he began.

" _Animorph!"_ He cast the spell and a large golden ritual ring formed around his feet.

He focused his mind on maintaining the ring around him before he progressed further. As he concentrated he could feel his magic pouring from his body into the ring, making it much more detailed and solid in its color. He continued to focus on the ring around him and tried to slow his breathing. He made notes in his head of all the colors, shapes, and designs the base ring held like his books said to do. It was crucial that he hold an exact image of the first ring in his head as he added to it. If he missed anything the whole ritual would be a failure.

" _Duostratum."_ He cast the spell to add the second layer.

An intense wave of magic shot from his body onto the floor and the ring around him slowly started create a smaller inner ring. The instant loss of that much magic literally took his breath away for a few seconds and almost broke his concentration.

As more and more of his magic poured out of him the golden light of the second ring began to grow brighter and more detailed. When the inner circle was as bright as the original outer circle was small sensations of magic started appearing and prickling in his feet. Keeping his concentration on maintaining the spell active he watched as slowly his feet began to morph into their _animagus_ form. His body was already beginning to shake and ache a little from the amounts of magic he was using. He did his best to clear his mind of that though and focus on the ritual. He was nearing the end of it.

His ankles were beginning to bend their shape and grow fur on them. As they morphed he cursed himself for not realising it would be hard to stand upright as they morphed, after all moutain lions did not stand on two feet. The fur started to spread down his toes as his feet continue to shift their form. The ritual was almost complete.

 _POP!_ A loud sound emerging from just a few feet in front of him ricocheted throughout the room. The scare from the sudden loud noise broke his concentration and immediately large feelings of pain began shooting up from his feet causing him to collapse.

"OWWWWW!" he screamed out in agony as it felt like bones in his feet had literally ripped through his skin.

"Harry Potter came back to school, Dobby warned and warned Mr. Harry Potter Sir. Dobby told him it was not safe! Ah, sir why didn't you heed Dobby?" He was barely able to keep his eyes open with all of the pain shooting through his body, but through the shots of pain he could make out that the pop and voice belonged to the house elf Dobby that had appeared in his room two different times over the summer and had tried to stop him from coming to Hogwarts.

" _Umbrosio!"_ Harry heard Marik cast his shadow magic spell from across the room.

"What the hell Dobby! Owwww!" he screamed out in agony again as the pain got worse. He could see Marik's spell had four shadow arms holding the house elf in place by each limb. The house-elf's goggling tennis ball eyes were peering at Harry through the darkness. A single tear was running down his long pointed nose.

"Harry are you okay?" Hermione asked him as she made her way over to where he was laying on the ground. She looked scared, her face was filled with worry.

"I'm owwww… Fine Hermione. Dobby what did you do that for!" Harry shouted at the elf.

"Harry Potter sir did not listen to Dobby. So Dobby is protecting Mr. Harry Potter sir. Dobby feels bad Sir, Dobby even had to iron his hands! But Dobby doesn't care, he just wants Harry potter to be safe," the house elf replied.

"Protecting him? Can't you see your little stunt just hurt him? You could have seriously harmed him or even killed him!" Hermione shouted angrily at the small elf.

"Dobby is sorry Mr. Harry Potter Sir. Dobby will punish himself later for hurting Mr. Harry Potter Sir. It was the only way Dobby could think to save him. Now Mr. Harry Potter Sir will need to leave Hogwarts to go to St. Mungos to get better. Now Mr. Harry Potter Sir will be away from Hogwarts and will be safe," Dobby said to the group.

"Are you insane!" Marik shouted and the shadow hands gripped the elf tighter.

"Dobby I am not leaving Hogwarts! Owww!" He started saying through the pain. "If you want to protect me then don't hurt me like this and just tell me what is so unsafe!" Harry finished. He was starting to see spots of black in his vision.

"Dobby is sorry Mr. Harry Potter sir. But this was the only way Dobby could think of," Dobby replied.

"Protect Harry from what? Why isn't he safe at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked the house elf, her voice starting to sound angry.

"Dobby must not be saying. Dobby is a bad house elf. Dobby is happy though that Mr. Harry Potter Sir will now be safe," the house elf said.

"Answer her! Why is Harry unsafe?" Marik said shouting. His shadow hands continued to tighten their grip.

"Dobby must be going now." The house elf snapped its fingers and disappeared leaving only dust and four empty shadow hands behind.

"What the hell just happened?" Marik shouted as the elf disappeared.

"Harry you are shaking! The house elf is probably right. Look at your feet Harry we need to get you to a doctor," Hermione said. He could see through the splotches of black that she had a few small tears in her eyes.

Fighting through the pain he looked down at his feet. If they had not been attached to his legs he would never have recognized them as his. The ankles were swollen lumps of fur and his toes were crumpled up. Each of them looked broken and he could see from the bumps on his feet he most likely had some broken bones there to.

"Owww. Hospital wing… Help Oww! Please!" He barely got the words out through the pain.

"Marik can you summon him a wheelchair or something to carry him on. Hold on Harry! I think I have a leftover _numbing potion_ vial somewhere in this lab," Hermione said and instantly went searching through nearby shelfs.

"Here Harry lay on this," Marik said to him. Marik had charmed a cushion on the nearby couch to grow into a body length pillow that almost looked like a stretcher. Marik helped him lay on it and proceeded to levitate the makeshift stretcher and him into the air.

"I found it!" Hermione shouted from the other side of the room. Her shout made another shot of pain shoot through his body. "Here Harry drink this," Hermione said as she opened up the vial and helped him drink it. After a few seconds his entire body had gone numb and it felt like he was just a floating head. He started to feel a little bit loopy to, the potion was certainly strong. "Better?" Hermione asked him still looking scared.

"Much better. Thank you Hermione. You are the best… and the prettiest," he said with a slur. Everywhere around him was starting to appear wavy and he was seeing weird splotches of color all over the place.

"Haha. I would say the potion worked, maybe a little _too_ well. Hermione when you're done blushing let's get him up to the hospital wing," Marik said, the anger in his voice from earlier replaced with a few snickers.

"Shut up Marik!" Harry heard Hermione shout.

"Hospitaall wingg… Wing… Wing. . ." he said from his stretcher.

"Yes Harry we are taking you to the hospital wing. He must have used up a lot of magic during the ritual spell. Normally your magic is supposed to burn off most of the side effects but since he is acting this loopy I'm guessing he doesn't have much magic left at the moment," Hermione said to Marik.

"Wings is a good idea… Ermioneee!" he shouted uncontrollably at her.

"Yes Harry?" Hermione was saying from above him.

"Remind me wingz. . . Wingzzez is a good ideas," he mumbled out.

"I will Harry I promise. Let's go Marik," Hermione said looking concerned. Harry could feel his body along with the stretcher being moved through the air and out of the dark potions lab.

"Were on the first floor Harry just a little bit further," he could hear Marik saying from somewhere near him. Most of his surroundings were too wavy to make out where they were in the castle but from all the light coming from the windows he could see they were no longer in the dungeons.

 _BAM!_ He could hear a loud explosion sound from somewhere near them.

"What the hell!" he could hear Marik shouting. "Hermione you hold on to Harry!" Marik was shouting.

Harry rolled his head over to the side to try and see what the sound had been. His head felt like a wave of water had just collided into it as his head moved. Through all the waves in his vision he could make out three people in front of him. There were two people facing each other down the hall and from the sound and the flashing lights it looked like they were dueling. Marik was running towards them.

" _Petrificus totalus!"_ Harry heard one of the two people say from the hall. The voice sounded like it was a girls.

" _Expelliar…_ Ahh _!"_ he heard the other voice shout followed by a loud thud.

" _Expelliarmus!_ What the hell is going on!" the voice he recognized as Marik's shouted.

"Leave me al. . ." the girl's voice started to shout but ended abruptly. After that all he could hear were footsteps running down the hall.

"Harry wasn't that…" Hermione started to say.

"Hermione you take Harry on up. It looks like he broke his nose when she hit him with that spell so I need to carry him up behind you both," Marik was saying. Harry felt his body begin to move again through the hall.

"Ermionnee what 'appened?" he asked Hermione through slurred words.

"I will tell you later Harry when you aren't so loopy. Right now you just rest, we are here," Hermione replied. Sure enough the lights from the window disappeared and were replaced with the warming torch light of the hospital wing.

"Madame Pomfrey!" Harry heard Hermione shout as they entered the hospital wing.

"Yes dear? Oh MY. Harry Potter what the bloody hell happened this time!" Madam Pomfrey shouted.

"He was doing a complicated transfiguration spell when a house elf appeared and broke his concentration," Hermione explained.

"Why on earth was he doing such a complicated spell then! My word I swear some of these professors push you all too much. Look at what has happened!" Madam Pomfrey was saying frantically. Harry could feel himself being lowered onto one of the hospital beds and Madam Pomfrey working on his feet.

"It wasn't his fault mam, and I have another patient for you here," Marik said from the entrance of the hospital wing.

"And what happened to this boy? Don't tell me you were practicing your complicated spell on this boy Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey shouted again.

"Mpfff," was all he managed to get out. Hermione's potion was much too strong for him to make sense of much of this.

"No, two students were dueling in the hallway and this guy drew the short straw," Marik answered, from somewhere across the hospital wing.

"Yes, well, put him in that bed over there Mr. Ose. A broken nose will have to wait until I'm finished here. Miss. Granger will you go grab my _skele-grow potion_ supply from my office, I trust you know what it looks like?" Madame Pomfrey asked Hermione.

"Yes Madam Pomfrey," Hermione replied, and scurried off.

"Harry my dear this is going to be quite painful even with the numbing potion you are on. Mr. Ose can you come help me over here," Madame Pomfrey shouted across the hall.

The next half hour or so was hell. This injury even with the _numbing potion_ was at least fifty times worse than any other injury he had ever received in his life. As Madam Pomfrey continued to work slowly the _numbing potion_ began to wear off and his world became less wavy. Less wavy and a lot more painful.

"Ugghh," he managed to say out loud as some of the last waves left his vision.

"Harry!" Hermione said from next to him. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, he could see tears in her eyes.

"I'm okay Hermione you don't need to be sorry," he replied, hating seeing her cry.

"You are anything but okay Mr. Potter. I was able to revert the transfigured parts of your body back to their normal sizes and shapes but there was serious bone damage done . You are going to have to drink two doses of _skele-grow potion_ everyday for at least two weeks before all the bones will be regrown. All those tiny bones in your toes and feet will surely make this a painful process. I'm afraid I won't be allowing you to leave here or be on your feet for at least a few weeks as well," Madam Pomfrey told him.

"But I can't miss my classes and private lessons! Is there anything we can do to speed it up?" He argued back. Missing even a day of class was risky business, there was no way he could miss any more than that and hope to pass.

"This is non-negotiable Mr. Potter. You should be thankful you will be able to walk again pulling a stunt like this! And I am sure Miss Granger and Mr. Ose will be able to keep you up to speed in your classes and get your assignments from your professors. As for your private lessons with Minerva… I will leave telling her what happened to one of you," Madame Pomfrey said with a smirk. Harry knew the overprotective parent side of McGonagall that she had towards her students would surely injure him almost as bad as he already was when she found out what happened. "Miss Granger I am going to take care of this broken nose, I am leaving you in charge of giving Mr. Potter his next _skele-grow_ dose in thirty minutes," Madame Pomfrey said turning to the other boy in the wing.

"Yes Madame Pomfrey," Hermione responded.

"How you hanging in there Harry?" Marik asked him from the side of his bed.

"I feel much better now. Thank you guys for taking care of me. And Hermione you're _numbing potion_ felt much more like a _get-Harry-as-loopy-as-possible- potion_ than a _numbing potion,_ " Harry answered, trying to make a joke. Hermione was looking much too sad to laugh though as she sat next to him.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I should have known with your magic being so drained it would have side effects." Hermione looked down at her feet as she apologized.

"You were saying some pretty funny stuff Harry, I enjoyed it even if you didn't," Marik joked beside him and Hermione reached across the bed to give him a slap.

"What happened in the hall Marik? I could barely see anything but it looked like you got in a duel with some people," Harry asked.

"I wish I would have gotten in a duel with someone, I could go for blowing of steam at this point, but no. It was two first years from the looks of it. I just stopped them from killing each other. Or I guess I should say I just stopped that kid over there from getting his ass kicked more than he already was," Marik answered.

"Why were they dueling?" Harry asked.

"Not sure. I think we came at the tail end of it," Marik answered.

"Harry actually I think the girl who was dueling was your cousin," Hermione said to him.

"Hermione it clearly was not Daphne dueling. That first year would have his entire face broken not just his nose if he tried to duel Daphne," Marik replied.

"No not Daphne Marik don't be dense. I meant Harry's cousin Alina. I recognized her from the times I've seen her before," Hermione interjected, turning to look at him.

"Alina? Why would Alina be dueling? Daphne was always the cold one. I've never been that close to Alina but she has always been known to be sweet and more like Sirius than her sister," he answered. Alina definitely did not seem like the person to start a random duel.

"Maybe he was picking on her or something. She seemed pissed off and distraught when she left the scene. From the looks of his robes the boy she was dueling is in Hufflepuff too so maybe it is some inner house thing going on," Marik added.

"Well we will keep our ears open to see if we hear anything for you Harry," Hermione said and tried to force a smile.

"Thanks Hermione," he responded, still curious about why his cousin had been dueling another student.

"Man today has been a strange day. A random duel between first years, you getting injured, a random Hogwarts house elf appearing to get you sent out of Hogwarts. Speaking of which now that you aren't high on potions spill the beans on what the hell that was all about and how you knew that elf's name!' Marik told him. He had been hoping to avoid this conversation. Especially now with him being injured he did not want to worry his friends anymore.

"Well. . ." he started thinking of the best way to put things to not worry his friends.

"Just tell us Harry!" Hermione shouted, her voice filled with fire.

"Fine. The house elf appeared in my room over twice over the summer. It warned me not to come to Hogwarts this year," Harry said quickly, trying to rip the bandage off as quick as he could and get the conversation over.

"What? And you are just now telling us this now! Are you bloody dense Harry! This is something you should tell us the second it happens!" Hermione was shouting at him.

"Shhh Hermione, not so loud," Marik was trying and failing to calm her.

"Why isn't Hogwarts safe?" Hermione asked him. Her scar combined with her glaring eyes gave her an intimidating look that rivaled most professors.

"I don't know Hermione. Dobby said he couldn't tell me. It's probably no big deal. Last year Hogwarts wasn't entirely safe either. I mean a troll attacked us. I didn't want you guys to worry about me for nothing. You are all too busy this year to spend time worrying about me. I will be fine," Harry tried to get her to relax.

"Still, even if it is nothing Harry even so you should have told us. We are your friends. I tell you everything. Even if it is nothing me and Marik are here for you and want to help you. So even if this is all just a crazy house elf trying to kill you or whatever we want you to tell us so we can help," Hermione argued, a few more tears in her eyes. He really did hate seeing her like this, especially when he knew those tears were due to him.

"I'm sorry Hermione," he tried to apologize, but Hermione looked like she wasn't going to let this go.

"So the elf didn't tell you anything, or give you any clues?" Marik asked breaking the silence.

"No the times I have seen him he just said Hogwarts isn't safe for me and that I should stay home," Harry answered.

"We should tell the Headmaster. Maybe he can do something to help, or increase security or something," Hermione added.

"No Hermione, I will be fine. We don't need to cause an uproar just because one crazy elf said something. We will just keep our eyes open and if we see anything then we can take it to the Headmaster," he replied. He really just wanted them to drop it. They didn't need to worry about him.

"Well _you_ can keep your eyes open in here for the next few weeks then Harry. Marik, Harry needs a dose of _skele-grow potion_ in five minutes," Hermione said in an angry tone and stood up. She started walking out of the hospital wing.

"Hermione wait. Where are you going?" Harry asked her. He felt a sting of sadness come over himself as he watched her walk away. She was clearly mad at him.

She didn't reply as she open the door and walked out of the hospital wing. Marik waited for a few more minutes to give him his potion before quickly heading out as well to check on Hermione, leaving him alone in the hospital wing with nothing but his mind racing and his pain dancing around his body.

Maybe coming to Hogwarts this year was a bad idea.

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	16. Book2: Chapter 5

**Marik**

His body had never been more thankful in his life than it was right now. For the past few lessons with Kingsley they had been working on breaking body binding spells without a wand. At first the topic had seemed like one that was extremely interesting and Marik had been very excited to the lessons. However, after five minutes into the first lesson he had quickly started to dread returning to Kingsley's lessons each of the following times.

Kingsley, Marik learned at the start of their lessons earlier in the year, had been an auror for the Ministry of Magic for most of his professional life. Throughout their private lessons Kingsley had exchanged numerous stories with him about certain situations he had been in throughout his career, and how he was able to complete his missions. One thing was made clear through all of these stories and that was that Kingsley definitely knew what he was talking about, and all of his amazing stories were very believable as soon as Kingsley showed off his magic.

Kingsley's magic was incredible to watch, and Marik had honestly never seen someone capable of casting as many complex spells as Kingsley could. Kingsley's magic and lessons had really been a major part of the reason that Kingsley had quickly become his favorite professor after replacing Quirrell last year. Even though Kingsley was his favorite professor and his private lessons had helped him learn so much new magic, breaking spells wandlessly sucked. Like really sucked.

The method of practice Kingsley had chosen for their lessons was to hit Marik with a high-powered binding spell and then have him proceed to try and break from the bind. After the first attempt he quickly discovered that Kingsley would not be holding back with the power in his spells at all, which also sucked.

Kingsley had told him that the more he got used to being hit with high powered spells the more his body would get used to defending against them. He had gone on to learn that part of the auror training regiment was similar to this style of training. Aurors in training were subjected to high powered stunners, binding spells, and other spells all to make their bodies used to them.

As an example Kingsley let Marik hit him with a stupefy spell at full power to prove his point. While the spell still made Kingsley fly across their training room and almost knocked him out, because his body and magic were so used to being hit by stunners he was able to recover much quicker than someone who was not used to the spell. It really was quite impressive and would certainly be something useful to learn.

So their training sessions from that point on had been him getting nailed by powerful binding spells, flying across a training room, and attempting to break free from the binds. His first few lessons had been complete failures. Ninety percent of the lesson was Kingsley waking him up from unconsciousness. Their last lesson had also been pretty much a failure as well, besides the fact that he had been able to break through one of Kingsley's binds for the first time. Although even with his first success, all of the bruises and aches he had earned in the process made the celebration short lived.

Today he had to force himself out of bed and to Kingsley's classroom for their training session. His entire left arm was now more a giant bruise than an arm, and his legs were so sore he had begged Harry to let him share his hospital wing bed and potions that morning. Luckily though the magic gods or someone out there in the world was looking out for him. When he arrived at Kingsley's office Kingsley told him that their private lesson was cancelled for the day. Marik never thought that he would be so happy to miss out on learning magic in his life. Today though he was ecstatic.

With his lesson being cancelled that meant his entire afternoon was free. Which meant he could finally have a day of sleep! He was practically skipping as he made his way towards the Slytherin common room. With the newly annual Hogwarts dueling tournament coming up in the first week of December his teachers, for the most part, had been giving them all less homework and readings so they all had time to practice. Luckily for him since he won the EMSDC over the summer he did not have to participate in this year's tournament until the summer tournament, so that meant that he could use all the extra free time now for sleep and end of year projects.

The way the dueling tournament worked now that there were official winners for each year was that the winner of the other two schools and Hogwart's tournament for each year would go on to take part in the EMSDC tournament over the summer like he had. The winner for each year at that tournament would go on to fight the years previous champion and try to take the title of champion from them.

So that meant he would not have to participate or take part in the tournaments until the final round of the summer tournament. In the final round he would just have to compete in one duel to defend his title. Therefore while the rest of the school was busy practicing their dueling today he would be catching up on his sleep, and later maybe working on having the best end of year projects.

 _Sleep is such a beautiful word._ He thought to himself as he glided to his common room in a daze. He had come to Hogwart dreaming of doing nothing but learning amazing magic, but at the moment he desired nothing but learning how soft his pillow would be when he got to his room.

"Marik! There you are!" someone shouted from behind him stealing his attention from his daydreaming.

"Huh?" he mumbled as he turned around, and left his daze. The voice had come from Hermione.

"I thought you had lessons with Kingsley now? You better not be skipping Marik!" Hermione shouted, accusing him with a glare.

"I'm not skipping Hermione, Kingsley cancelled. I'm going to get some sleep now," he answered her and turned around towards his common room again. He immediately tried to return to his sleep filled day dream. He could already imagine the sheep he was about to start counting. He was practically drooling as he thought about getting under his covers.

"No you are not. You are going to come help me practice dueling for the tournament. Harry is still in the hospital wing, and even if he wasn't I wouldn't practice with _him_ right now anyways. So I am calling in my favor you owe me now!" Hermione argued.

"But Hermioneeee. Sleep!" he pleaded, as he turned around and made his best puppy-dog-eye impression.

"Marik you said you would help me practice extra this year for the tournament! Plus you said you owed me for those _pep-up potions_ I brewed for you!" Hermione responded. Damn her and her arguments that make sense.

"But. . . but. . . sleep. . ." was all he managed to say back, as he pointed desperately towards his common room. He was too tired to think of a better counter argument.

"No buts! Come on Marik you can sleep later," Hermione said and grabbed his arm. She dragged him halfway across and up the castle to their usual spell practice room that they had practiced in for most of their first year. He made it a point to pout as much as he could along the way. _Damn my common room being right next to their potions lab._

Hermione had been very bitter about losing to Harry during the last tournament. Most of that bitterness had disappeared once her and Harry had become good friends, but the distaste for losing had remained. Hermione made it quite clear to he and Harry coming into this year that this tournament she would be bringing out the big guns.

From what Marik saw when they had the few chances to hang out and talk during her free periods Hermione had been hitting the charms and transfiguration books hard this year. Hermione was clearly a witch on a mission this time around and when she set her mind to something there was truly no stopping her. And this year Hermione had clearly set her mind to winning the tournament, among everything else.

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?" he asked her, sounding defeated when they arrived at the classroom.

"I want you to duel me. I have been practicing some of the material in the notes you gave us from Flitwick along with some other stuff I want to try out," Hermione answered, his body shivered in an exhausted pain at the word duel. He had brief flashbacks of Kingsley casting spells at him. Even if Hermione's spells were weaker than Kingsley's were he wasn't sure how much more his body could take.

"Okay, is there anything specific you want me to use or don't use?" he asked her.

"No shadow magic. Since no one besides you knows how to use it I should practice against spells I might actually face. Anything else I'm okay with though. Don't go easy on me Marik I'm serious! I want to win this thing this year and no one else is going to go easy on me," Hermione ordered from the other side of the room as they raised their wands.

"Of course not. I never go easy on you!" he replied truthfully.

He would not go easy on her, after all she never went easy on him. Plus if she really wanted to get better she needed him to give it his all. His body seemed to perk up and gain some energy as they readied themselves. He had not dueled anyone outside of Flitwick since his duels in the tournament so it would feel good to blow off some steam here, plus he may actually be able to hit Hermione, unlike his 0-53 record against Flitwick so far.

"Three. . . Two. . . One. . . GO!" Hermione shouted and they were off.

From their previous duels he knew Hermione tended to go defensive in a lot of her strategies. Starting defensive in a duel didn't necessarily mean that you were going on the defensive though, that much he had learned through his lessons with Flitwick.

Flitwick would lull you to sleep with a number of defensive spells and trick you into thinking you had an opening. It would be at that point when he would make his move. Just like in sports sometimes in dueling the best offense was a good defense. Hermione was smart too with her dueling. She utilized her defenses just like Flitwick did sometimes as a way to set up her offense. That meant every spell she cast had the potential to be a bluff or a setup to better her defense while she lowered his.

" _Fumous!"_ he shouted the spell out to start the duel. Large bellows of black smoke poured forth from his wand out towards Hermione. The spell wasn't meant to hurt her in any way, but it would provide him with good cover and at the same time lower her vision of the dueling field.

" _Gemino!"_ he heard Hermione cast a spell he had surprisingly not heard of from the other side of the smoke.

" _Muffliato!"_ He cast the silencing spell on himself so Hermione would not be able to hear his spells. His smoke had ended up not working to his favor as he was currently unable to see what Hermione's spell had done. However, the smoke did give him more time to prepare for his next move. " _Protego totalum."_ He cast the area protection spell around him and waited, not wanting to risk anything desperate before he found out what Hermione's spell was.

" _Deprimo_ , s _tupefy!"_ The spells were cast but from the sound of the casting it sounded like multiple people had cast the two spells. His own smoke was sent flying towards where he was standing but just fluttered around his shield in the wind.

In the smoke's wake what was left was very surprising. Instead of one Hermione casting a stunning spell at him there were six Hermione's all with their wands' raised along with six stunners headed his way. Luckily they all collided at the same point and were erased by his shield.

 _This is very impressive Hermione._ He thought to himself. She really had been doing her homework and was certainly bringing out the big guns. He would have to step up his game.

" _Incarcerous!"_ He pointed the spell towards one of the Hermiones and instead of casting a shield spell the Hermione just took the ropes to the chest and disappeared.

So five of them were just illusions. Which meant that only one of their spells was the real deal to. Well one down and now just the real Hermione to find. This was kind of like Russian roulette, hopefully he wouldn't get shot.

" _Expelliarmus, stupefy, aguamenti!"_ The remaining five Hermione's sent off a flurry of a spell chain towards him. Luckily they were all still located in one direction in front of him so he would not have to defend himself from multiple directions. If he had been surrounded he probably would of been a goner already.

" _Erecto, protego, suincendius, luximo!"_ He countered her spell chain with a more powerful spell chain of his own.

The _erecto_ spell he cast brought up a stretched piece of the ground in front of him which took the brunt of Hermione's disarming spell but also as a result exploded upon impact. Luckily his _protego_ shield blocked the chunks of brick and _stupefy_ spell Hermione had sent at him. The next two spells in his chain he owed credit to Flitwick.

The _suincendius_ spell was one that Flitwick had taught him in their last lesson. Normally it was used to counter the _incarcerous_ spell but he put it to use to counter Hermione's _aguamenti_ spell. The spell resulted in his entire body catching on fire, which thankfully did not burn the caster. However, the intense flames covering his body turned all of Hermione's water into steam in the room as it hit him. Which is where his _luximo_ spell came into play. The lightning spell sent a shockwave of sparks through the mist and towards the remaining five hermiones.

" _Aisu arma!"_ the Hermiones cast the ice spell in unison. The mist in the room turned into a solid block of ice and fell to the floor with his lightning spell disappearing in it. As soon as the Hermione's cast the spell they started running forwards towards him. " _Stupefy, stupefy, petrificus totalus!"_ the Hermiones said in unison as they fired the next spell chain at him.

Unfortunately this time all of the Hermione's spells were more spread out so he would not be able to dodge them all or deflect them all with one shield. He would just have to guess which ones he thought were illusions and which ones were the real deal. Hopefully he was lucky.

" _Protego, protego, protego!"_ He threw up three quick shields around him in the locations he guessed might hold the real Hermione's spells. Luck seemed to be on his side. On two of his shields the spells just disappeared when they hit them which meant they were probably the illusions. On his third shield though Hermione's first two stunners were powerful enough to destroy the shield which resulted in him getting nailed in the chest with her binding _petrificus totalus_ spell.

 _Not as bad as Kingsley's at least._ He thought to himself as he flew limp across the room. Even with as sore as he had been, and as bad as the spell hurt, he was thankful it was just not another spell from Kingsley. He waited a second to get Hermione caught off guard before he started to focus his magic. Luckily for him Hermione's binds were a lot less strong than Kingsley's binds normally were and he was able to wandlessly shatter through them quick enough. The remaining Hermiones seemed caught off guard as he quickly jumped to his feet.

" _Expelliarmus, expelliarmus, expelliarmus!"_ He cast three disarming spells at the Hermione's in front of him.

" _Prot…"_ was all the stunned at his actions Hermione was able to get out when his spell collided with the real her and sent her wand flying towards him. Damn that had been a good duel.

"Holy shit Hermione. That was impressive as hell," he congratulated her as he gave her back her wand.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked, still looking perplexed.

"I did a bind breaker wandlessly. It's what I have been working on with Kingsley the past few lessons on. That was actually only the second time I have ever got one to work though," he answered sounding proud of himself.

"That was amazing! It completely took me off guard. I thought I had won! I was just about to start celebrating," Hermione replied, obviously still thinking about the duel.

"So what tips do you have? I really thought I had you there at the end," Hermione asked him.

"If we would have dueled last week you would of. That cloning spell was amazing. Although next time you use it you should try and get them to spread out more. In the beginning I didn't have to dodge or defend more than one spot still since all the spells were coming from the same direction. At the end though I was screwed since they were so spread out. If you surrounded someone with that they wouldn't stand a chance unless they got lucky," Marik answered her honestly. It really was a great strategy.

"Yeah, that is a good idea. I was just caught up in actually getting it cast successfully that time ya know? What was that body fire spell you did by the way? That came out of nowhere and scared me half to death," Hermione asked curiously.

"The _suincendius_ spell. Flitwick taught me it in one of our last lessons. It will be in my notes along with the bind breaking stuff that I was going to give you and Harry tomorrow. Speaking of spells coming from nowhere spill the beans on that cloning spell. I've never heard of something like that before," he answered her.

"Its called _gemino_. You can create a thought projection of yourself with it. Depending on how much magic you put into it you can create any number of projections. I only made five others since I didn't want to use up all my offensive magic juice," Hermione explained.

"Wow. It is really impressive magic. You should keep that one between us. If you use that during the dueling tournament I don't think anyone will have a defense against it," he responded.

"Not even Harry?" Hermione said Harry's name with an angry look on her face.

"Haha, why are you still holding a grudge against Harry Hermione? And no I don't think even Harry would have a defense against it at the moment," Marik laughed.

"Because he didn't tell _me_ that he might be in danger. I tell him everything and he chose not to tell me something this big. What would have happened if he had gotten hurt worse than he did! We could have protected him or at least helped him keep an eye out," Hermione was clearly flustered at the topic still. Since the day Dobby the house elf had popped up she had been in a constant bad mood, and it seemed she had not let up any today.

"First off you have not told him _everything._ I know for a fact he does not know how yo…" He started.

"Shut up!" Hermione shouted interrupting him.

"Second, he didn't tell you because he is _Harry_ and he didn't want you to worry. Hogwarts is just as important to him as it is to us. If he had told us you would have gone all protective over him and made him walk around the school with a body guard at all times.

Plus just like you are now you are worrying sick all the time that something bad is going to happen to him. He probably just wanted things to be normal Hermione. I can't really blame him for it either. You know how he doesn't like talking about anything like that," Marik tried to point out.

"Still, he should of told _me_ ," Hermione said stubbornly with her arms crossed.

"I know Hermione. I tell you what, how about we don't tell him about your cloning magic and we let you surprise him with it during the tournament as a way to get even?" Marik offered trying to cheer her up.

"See Marik this is why I keep you around, smart ideas like that," Hermione said, putting on a smile for the first time in a while.

"I think that is the first time you have ever called me smart Hermione," Marik joked, but it was also probably true he thought.

"And it will probably be the last," Hermione said with a smug grin. "Come on let's go again. I'm starting to get hungry and want to get one more good duel in real quick."

"Alright. Try not to use the cloning spell in this one and mix it up. When me and Flitwick do back to back duels he doesn't let me use the same spells again except for shield spells. He says it will train me to think better on my feet so you try to do the same thing this time," Marik said as he made his back over to his side.

"Okay, same for you then," Hermione replied as she readied herself. "Ready?"

"Ready," he replied.

"Three. . . Two. . . One. . . GO!" Hermione shouted and immediately she started moving. He immediately started to mirror her movement and ran in the same direction. " _Aisuterra!"_ Hermione started the duel off with an ice-make spell. The ground all around his half of the dueling room immediately turned to ice. He found himself getting off balance and decided to just go with the momentum. Dropping to both of his knees to better control his sliding he turned on the ice with his wand raised.

" _Diffindo,_ _erecto maximum!"_ He countered Hermione's ice spell with two spells that would help him balance the dueling field.

His first spell created a large crack in the center of the floor On Hermione's side, forcing the moving Hermione to one side of the room. His second spell was aimed only at that side of the room. Six different spikes of brick erected themselves from the ground. Hermione was quick enough still to dodge the first few but his last two spikes nailed her in the legs and forced her to her knees as well. He knew that would not be enough to beat her though.

" _Silencio, obscuro, protego totalum!"_ Still on her knees Hermione fired off another spell chain and protected the area around her body as she tried to stand up. He would need to act fast if the idea in currently his head were to work.

" _Gravitas, impedimenta, stupefy, protego!"_ Getting off a spell chain as complex as that one while sliding on ice on your knees was tough, but he just managed to get it off in enough time.

His first spell was another new spell that Flitwick had taught him in one of their recent lessons. The spell created an area of strong gravity that pulled and held the target into it, making it near impossible to move in. The result was exactly what he had hoped for.

Hermione had protected herself from direct spells with an area-protection shield. However, area-protection shields were good only for direct impact spells and would not help against his _gravitas_ spell. Hermione's body was sucked out of the shield she was in as she tried to stand up and was forced into the spot on the wall where had aimed his spell. His _impedimenta_ spell slowed down both of Hermione's offense spells enough to give his _stupefy_ time to act.

Now unprotected his _stupefy_ spell had no shield to worry about and impacted straight with the stuck Hermione. Her body went unconscious before his final _protego_ spell even went up. Another tough duel, but another win for him. After allowing himself a moment to breath he made his way over to the other side of the room and brought back Hermione to consciousness.

"Oww my chest," Hermione groaned out as her eyes opened.

"Oh I don't wanna hear it! Imagine getting hit with fifty of those in an hour by Kingsley then whine!" he replied, not feeling any pity for Hermione.

"You kicked my ass in that one. I was struggling to think of any spells that I hadn't used yet," Hermione said, as she got to her feet.

"See how much it makes you think. It forces you to expand your arsenal of spells. Remember mine and Harry's duel in the finals last year?" he asked her.

"Yeah what about it?" Hermione asked.

"Harry tried to use the exact same strategy on me that he did with you in our duel. I was able to use that to my advantage and beat him because of it. If your opponent knows all the spells you know how to cast you can't hope to win," he explained, channeling his inner Flitwick.

"Yeah, it makes sense. I guess I have a long way to go still," Hermione pouted.

"Yeah, you do. But we all do so don't be hard on yourself. You know a shit ton of spells, it's just getting to the point where you can remember them all in the heat of a duel," he replied.

Thanks for your help Marik. I'm even more motivated now to kick some ass in this tournament and train even harder now. But let's go get some food now I am starving," Hermione said and again grabbed his arm and began to drag him through the castle.

"Slow down Hermione you are going to rip my arm off at this rate," Marik pleaded as she continued to drag him. They made it through the empty third floor hallways and down the stairs to a second floor corridor when he saw something out of the corner of his eyes.

He stopped her and pulled her back to where his eyes were now fixed.

"Hermione… Look…" Marik said nervously, not entirely sure of what exactly he was looking at.

"What Marik? Stop playing around I am hungry!" Hermione responded. When her eyes found where his eyes were locked her face revealed the same reaction his had.

Something shiny on the wall had grabbed his attention as Hermione had dragged him through the halls. Shimmering in the torch light foot-high words had been daubed on the wall.

 _THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED._

 _ENEMIES OF THE HEIR,_

 _BEWARE._

"Marik, what does this mean?" Hermione started to ask him looking worried.

"Hermione look there is something hanging from the candle bracket," Marik pointed out. As they inched closer to the wall they could make out that the something hanging was in fact a black cat. It looked dead. . .

"That's Miss Norris. Mr. Filch's cat," Hermione said, covering her mouth in shock.

"What killed it? Why is a cat an enemy of the heir? Who is the heir? Do you think this is what Dobby was warning Harry about?" he was firing questions off one after another as his mind raced.

"HARRY!" Hermione squealed and took off down the hall. Marik followed. Marik chased after Hermione who had changed direction from the Great Hall and had started to make her way towards the hospital wing.

Once she burst through the doors in just a few long steps she made her way to Harry's bed where she pounced on top of the unfortunate unaware sleeping Harry. Thankfully he looked unharmed from the impact.

"OUCHHH!" Was all that could be heard from Harry's muffled mouth, which was currently covered in Hermione's hair as she hugged him. "Hermione? Ow! Hermione what are you doing?" Harry said through winces of pain. Although Harry's bones had regrown he still had at least another week before he would be fully healed.

"Harry I'm so sorry I was mean to you. I am so happy that you are okay. I was so scared," Hermione said through tears. She buried her head in his shoulders as she cried more.

"What? Why wouldn't I be okay? Marik what did you say?" Harry accused him. Even in that moment it was funny how Harry always assumed he was playing some sort of a joke.

" _Muffliato._ " Marik cast the spell around Harry's bed. "Shut up, I didn't say anything! Me and Hermione just… saw something and it got her worried," Marik explained to Harry as he grabbed a chair next to the bed.

"What did you see?" Harry asked them. Hermione's hair that covering his face as he spoke.

"We saw… It was on the wall… thought it might be you. . . Cat!" Hermione tried to explain through tears.

"Marik?" Harry looked to him to explain what Hermione's random words meant. Harry just pulled the crying Hermione in closer to his chest.

"We found blood writing on the castle wall. And Mr. Filch's cat, Mr. Torris dead," Marik tried to explain.

"The cat is Miss Norris!" Hermione shouted through tears from Harry's chest.

"Right, the cat. Anyways the cat was hanging from a candle bracket, and the writing on the wall said that the _Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware._ Do you think this might be what Dobby was warning you about?" Marik explained and asked his friend.

"What? What is the Chamber of Secrets? And who is the heir?" Harry fired off the same questions he had asked moments earlier.

"We don't know anything Harry, yet that is," Marik answered.

"Well Dobby never mentioned anything about an heir or a Chamber so I'm not sure. What did the professors say about it?" Harry asked.

"We don't know. As soon as we saw it we took off here to make sure you were okay," Marik explained.

"Well thanks for keeping an eye out for me. Hermione stop crying please. I'm okay I promise," Harry pleaded. Hermione lifted herself off of Harry and tried to wipe her eyes.

"So do you think this is what Dobby was trying to protect you from? Maybe you should go home Harry," Marik said, concerned for his friend.

"Maybe… And no I'm not going home. For all we know it could have just been a prank or something. Fred and George pranked Malfoy a bunch last week so it could be him just trying to get back at them or something," Harry said, trying to reason with him.

"Then why kill a cat?" Hermione asked as she finished wiping her tears.

"I don't know Hermione. But I'm okay. Let's just wait and see what the professors say and then we will go from there," Harry said trying to calm Hermione down. Looking at Harry he could tell Harry was not entirely confident in what he was saying.

"Well I'm glad to hear that you are unharmed, because McGonagall wanted me to tell you that she needs that paper on _Mistakes Made in Animagus_ by tomorrow. So get working, or she will probably make sure that you _are_ harmed," he said, breaking the silence after a few moments.

"Ughh just kill me now," Harry pleaded at the news.

"Harry James Potter really? After I just came here crying and worrying that you had been killed!" Hermione screamed at Harry and punched his chest.

He couldn't help but laugh at the sight. After a few moments Hermione started laughing too, and Harry soon joined in. It was one of the first times in a while they had all laughed together. Hopefully what the house elf warned Harry about was not true, hopefully this wouldn't be one of the last times they laughed together.

* * *

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	17. Book2: Chapter 6

**Alina**

It was so quiet, tranquil, and beautiful out tonight. A night that many would call the perfect night. Sitting at her favorite spot on the shoreline of the lake, the flickering reflection of the silver moonlight across the ripples and waves of the water seemed to be the only thing stirring in the world around her. The birds in the trees had long ago returned to their nests and gone to sleep and only a few owls could be heard hooting to one another up in the owlery in the castle behind her.

The moon was full tonight. It looked even bigger than usual tonight as it stood out with its bright silvery glow set against the coal colored sky. A full moon. . . That meant uncle Remus would be out tonight somewhere in the world. Hopefully he was safe.

 _Monster. . ._ The voice responded to her thought. Hearing it speak brought back the tears to her eyes again. She was already losing count of how many times she had cried that night.

 _Six, seven, or was it eight times already_? She wondered to herself. Small splashes and waves materialized in the water in the spots around where she had her feet dipped in. Each time one of her tears crashed into the lake's waters both the moon and her reflections danced in the water to the rhythm of the newly created waves. It was a sad, melancholy song to dance to.

 _Is that really my reflection?_ She thought to herself. She looked so different than how she remembered she used to look. Before Hogwarts. Before. . . Him.

She fixated her gaze on the reflection in the water again.

 _Who is this girl in the water looking at me?_ Her bright-blue eyes that normally were at a constant competition with the sky for the brightest blue had long since lost their sparkle, and now resembled more of a cloudy rainy sky. Not only did their color look like rain clouds recently they always seemed to have a high chance of raining. Her tan skin had paled and her hair had thinned. She looked so frail. She felt so weak. . . She was so weak.

Her eyes dried quickly again and the ache behind them returned. She would have killed to be able to rest them with a good night's sleep, but the fear of what she, or _he,_ might do if she slept meant that sleep was not an option tonight. Not that it had really been an option for most of the year either though. He was always there in her dreams after all.

 _Kill… It's time to kill. . ._ The voice whispered again. She shuttered as an icy chill went down her spine.

"Stop it! Leave me alone!" she whispered angrily at her reflection in the water. The girl looking back at her from the water did not reply though, but instead stared back with blank eyes, powerless to actually do anything. Why couldn't the girl in the water be stronger.

 _The beast is hungry…_ The voice continued unrelentlessly.

She threw the diary into the water aiming at the head of the girl in the water. The water splashed with the impact and sent a number of small waves outwards, rushing away from the spot of impact. The diary disappeared under the waves and the reflection of the moon into the depths of the dark lake, but as it always did reemerged after a few moments back to the surface.

Just as it had done the countless times she had tried before the diary carried itself across the nonexistent currents of the lake towards her. No matter how much she willed herself not too her magic always forced her to pick it back up. More tears came as she picked the diary up from the surface of the water.

"How many more do I have left?" She whispered to herself as a few more cold tears ran down her cheek. Apparently not many as her eyes again ached in their attempt to force more tears out, but failed as they again dried quickly.

 _You are mine… They are all mine. . ._ The voice told her.

The ripples in the water from the diary had died down by then and the serenity of the peaceful lake's dark blue water returned. If only her life and mind could be as peaceful as this view was now.

Her spot out here by the water was truly the only place in the world right now where she still could find some peace. Her mind was a raging field of battle and everywhere in the world it seemed she was losing the war. Here though… Here she felt she could at least escape it. Even if it was just for a little while. Although, so far tonight she was losing the battle. Tonight even here it felt impossible to escape.

The giant squid was being quiet tonight unlike normally. It had not made an appearance even once in the few hours she had been out it seemed the whole world was sleeping. Everyone else was lost in dreams of magic and wonder, too busy dreaming in their deep sleep to ever have anything to worry about. Everyone but her it seemed. Well her, and him… He never slept though… Neither did she anymore.

A small gerridae was sliding across the lake. It appeared to be almost dancing as it glided across the water, moving from one spot to the next without a care in the world. She imagined the oval shape of the moon's reflection as an ice skating ring, and the gerridae was a performer putting on a private show just for her.

"A Perfect ten," she whispered to the bug trying to make a joke, and trying to make herself smile. It was no use though. No one laughed or smiled at the joke. The girl in the water had long forgotten how to smile and the gerridae ignored her. Even the movement of the waves emphasized her frown.

 _Go now… I am waiting…_ The voice ordered her. She did her best to ignore it, a feat that nine out of ten times always ended in failure.

The wind around her started to pick up. The trees from the forbidden forest struck up a chorus of a thousand leaves behind her as the wind pierced through the trees. The gerridae surfed the rippling waves of the water created by the wind away from her and towards the center of the lake. Away and out of her sight it disappeared in the darkness of the water and the night.

 _I guess the show is over._ She thought sadly to herself, feeling even more alone now. The trees leaves from the forbidden forest were rustling even louder now in the wind. Their song seemed to get shallower and darker as it continued. The eerie black trees bent back and forth under the force of the wind, their rooftops resembling similar waves to that of the water. It was eerily beautiful in its own way.

 _I want blood…_ The voice commented.

The thought of blood made her body shake. She looked down to her wrists. The cuts had still not healed. She wondered if they ever would. Blood… There had been so much blood. Her blood… She switched her gaze from her wrists back to her reflection.

She had been the one to write the message in blood on the wall.

 _No… She had been the one._ She thought to herself as she continued looking at the girl in the water. The cat… The rest… She did not know if she… no … the girl in the water was responsible for that or not. The Chamber of Secrets. Had she opened it?

She only half remembered writing the message, but she never remembered a Chamber, let alone opening one.

Did you open the Chamber?" she asked the girl in the water.

 _I am ready…_ The voice interrupted her thoughts. Part of her wanted to ask what he was ready for. The part of her she knew was her… or what was left of her knew better though.

 _To kill… To kill them all…_ The voice answered anyway.

"Shut up!" she whispered loudly to it to stop.

 _To kill you…_ The voice continued, ignoring her request. More and more shivers came as again she found herself crying. The water temperature she had grown use to was once again cold and her feet started to almost burn from the water's icy touch on her ankles.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked her. She looked at her reflection in the water. She had not thought that. It had sounded different then _him_ too.

 _Did you say that?_ She asked herself as she stared at the girl in the water. It took a few more seconds for reality to come back, and when it did she rose and quickly turned around with her wand raised.

" _Stupefy."_ She cast the spell at the source of the voice. The spell lit up the night sky around her before it vanished as it neared the figure that had spoke to her. The figure seemed to have whispered something in response to her spell. She readied herself to cast another spell.

" _Stup…"_ She started the next spell but found it impossible to finish the incantation. Three black, shadowy, smoke-like arms had emerged out of seemingly the darkness around her. Two of them had grabbed a hold of her wrists making it impossible to move her arms. The third one covered her mouth.

 _She had seen this magic before… but where?_ She wondered to herself.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. I just heard you crying over here and wanted to make sure you weren't hurt," the figure said calmly and began to walk closer to her. She struggled in the dark arms grasps trying to break free as it did. It was no use though. The figure closed in on her and was now standing just a foot away from her.

 _Kill. . ._ The voice told her as the figure crept closer.

The figure was wearing a cloak that even the moonlight did not seem to reflect off of. The figure seemed to almost be part of the endless darkness of the night that surrounded it. A cold chill went up her spine at the sight. As the figure stepped closer its cloak billowed like smoke when it moved. _She had seen that cloak before too. But where?_ Her questions were quickly answered as the figure removed its hood.

It was the Marik boy from the tournament in Paris. The one that her sister despised. Her cousin's best friend. The one that she… Her train of thought was interrupted as he spoke.

"If I release you will you calm down? Or am I going to get cursed if I do?" he asked her and the hand around her mouth released its grasp.

"I won't curse you," she answered him truthfully. Her voice sounded raspy and hollow as she spoke.

"Alright," the Marik boy said and slowly the hands around her made their way back down to her shadow where they had emerged from. "Sorry about that, it was just a reaction from your spell. Are you okay?" he asked her looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered shortly, turning back to look at the lake and avoid looking at him.

 _Had he come here to get her in trouble for being out after curfew? Or something else._ She wondered. She tightened her grip on her wand.

 _It's been so long…_ The voice said again.

"Stop it!" she shouted accidently. _Oops,_ she had meant to say that in her head.

"You sure you are fine? You don't look so good… I mean you do look good. . .you look great actually. . . I meant it's just you look… sick?" the Marik boy stuttered the words out, he looked embarrassed at what he had said. "I know you from somewhere…" he continued to say as he looked her over.

"I said I am fine!" she argued back, feeling a slight sting in her cheeks. "And I was at the dueling tournament this summer. I saw you duel and win the tournament," she replied.

"No that's not it. Oh yeah, you are the girl who beat the nose off of that kid in the hallway a few weeks ago! You're Daphne's sister!" he announced, looking like he was proud at remembering that.

"The nose off of that kid? What are you talking about? And yeah… I am," she asked him confused. She had no clue what he was talking about.

He must of had her confused with someone else. She guessed it was true he would not have remembered her from the tournament since they never actually met. She remembered him though. He had made her mad at his last comment. Of course the only way someone would know who she is or recognize her would be as Daphne's sister.

"It's Alina right?" he asked her.

"Mhmm," was all she answered with. She didn't trust him at all. Why was he out here? What did he want with her?

"Nice to meet you Alina. My name is Marik Ose. Sorry again for creeping up on you and scaring you," he said with a large friendly smile on his face and extended his hand out towards her. He looked friendly enough, but looks were deceiving. She looked like the girl in the water after all but that wasn't really her. _Or was it. . ._ After resisting a few moments her body reacted on its own and shook his hand.

"I know who you are. What do you want?" she coldly asked him.

"Man you definitely are related to the ice-queen… I mean nevermind. Like I said I just heard crying from over here and wanted to see what was going on. I saw it was just you over here so I wanted to make sure you were okay," Marik told her. His words sounded truthful.

" _Ice-queen_?" she asked, confused at what he meant by the words.

"Uhhh. . . it's a name I came up with for your sister last year. It kind of took hold with the rest of the school and now everyone calls her that. Well at least they do when she can't hear them," Marik answered her, looking nervously.

After he finished answering her question she felt a strange feeling come over her. At first it frightened her but slowly she remembered the feeling. She was laughing. After a few moments she found her sides hurting from laughing and her chest was getting sore from going through something it was not used to.

Her eyes were again watering this time though the tears were warm instead of cold. She couldn't stop laughing and crying, her body was out of control. Eventually her sides were so sore she collapsed onto her knees on the ground where she had been sitting before he arrived. It took a few minutes but eventually she was able to regain composure and the laughing stopped.

"I'm sorry. . ." she said through a few more giggles, wiping the last few tears that had come out. "That was just really funny. Ice-queen? That fits her so perfectly!" she said to him.

"Yeah, I thought so to. Don't tell her I'm the one who came up with the name though please. She already makes my life hell enough as it is," Marik said.

"You and me both. And I promise I won't," she replied, the sting in her cheeks getting more present.

"Ahh so you are a member of the People Daphne Tortures Club then huh?" Marik playfully asked her.

"A member? No I founded the club!" she joked back through a few giggles. Where was all this laughter and joking coming from? She looked back at the lake, and at the girl in the water. The girl's eyes looked bluer, and the girl looked. . . different than she had before. Her cheeks were red and her lips looked. . . different.

"Haha well I'm glad to know this whole time I wasn't the only one suffering," Marik laughed as he talked. "Do you mind if I join you?" Marik asked her as he motioned to the spot in the ground next to where she was sitting.

"Yeah… I guess…" she responded nervously, still unsure of what was happening. He sat down in the spot next to her and started staring out into the lake.

"It's really beautiful out here, almost like a scene out of a movie. I've never been to this part of the grounds at night before," he commented as he continued to stare out over the water.

"Yeah it is…" She dipped her feet back in the water. The water felt warmer than it had before. "This is my favorite spot at Hogwarts."

She jumped a little and grabbed her wand again as he started moving next to her. She relaxed though as she saw that he was only taking his shoes off. He pulled the legs of his pants up and dipped both of his feet in the water to join hers. His feet starting swaying in the water only a few inches away from hers. With each back and forth they sent a small wave of warm water into her ankles.

"I can see why. It feels like a completely different world out here. No worries about homework, grades, or school just the relaxing waves of the water," he said calmly, his eyes never left the spot they were fixed on out on the water.

"Yeah… no worries," was all she said in response not knowing what to say back.

Half of her was in panic mode as the two of them sat there and stared out over the water. That half of her was the half holding the wand in her hand ready to send a spell out at any sudden movement. Five minutes ago she had been the only one it seemed alive in the world, if you could even call it alive. Now she was sitting inches next to a stranger who was being kind, funny, and had made _her_ laugh. The other half of her felt something else, although she seemed to have forgotten what to call it.

Tired of looking at the girl in the water she turned her eyes to the new reflection in the water. Bright grey-silvery eyes were staring up from the water looking up towards the sky. His eyes seemed to glow and radiate out from his face as they set against his darker tan skin. They were as bright as the moon and even prettier.

 _Her skin used to be tan like his_ , _and her eyes as bright._ She thought to herself. His black hair was blowing slightly in the wind and its reflection seemed to be dancing on the water's waves like the gerridae had done earlier. His reflection looked peaceful, pretty, kind, and happy; unlike the girl in the water.

"So what are you doing out here?" She broke the silence and turned her gaze from his reflection to him as she asked.

"I'll tell you if you tell me," he proposed the offer.

"Deal," she agreed instinctively before she even realised what she had said.

"And no telling your sister! What happens at the lake stays at the lake!" he added with a smile.

"Okay, what happens at the lake stays at the lakes," she agreed again quickly.

"I was sneaking through the restricted section earlier and Peeves found me in there. He ended up giving me a good chase and I barely managed to get out of the castle and away from him before he woke up the entire school," Marik told her. Whenever he talked he always seemed to have the same smirk and grin on his face. It was a charming sort smirk that seemed to fit him and make his words feel warmer. "So I decided to just walk around the grounds for a little while until the coast was clear and I could sneak back in. Your turn!" He turned to look at her when he finished. She averted her eyes back to the water, feeling like it was wrong to look into his eyes, which looked so pure.

"I don't have a good story like you do. I just come out to this spot every so often when I need to get away from things or try and clear my head," she answered, somewhat truthfully.

"That's not a bad story. I have a spot near the cliff by the entrance road over there that I do the same with. You can see the Hogwarts Express Station and the small part of the lake where first year's get in the boats to take them up to the school. It's not as good a view as it is here but it brings back my favorite memories," Marik's bright grey eyes seem to pierce hers as he looked at her.

"What memories are those?" she asked curiously.

"The first time I found out about magic. The first time I went to Diagon Alley. The first time I met my friend Hermione. Seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Meeting your cousin. Memories like that. Just stuff that reminds you of the beginning of all this. Finding out about magic and learning that I was a wizard was the best day of my life, so it reminds me of then you know?" he answered her.

"I would like to see that spot. . . It sounds. . . magical," she replied honestly, it really did sound magical. She felt the same way. Her first night at Hogwarts had been one of the best nights of her life, she could completely understand what he was talking about.

"I will make sure to take you there another night then," he said with another smile and another cute smirk. She couldn't help the warm feeling that started in her cheeks as he proposed hanging out another night with her. It was another feeling she had forgotten.

"When did you did you find out you were a wizard?" she asked him another question after a few moments.

"When I was eleven the summer before my first year. Dumbledore was sitting in my living room when I got home from school and told me and my family. At first I thought it was all an elaborate prank but after a little while I started to believe him. It truly was the greatest day of my life." A large smile came to Marik's face as he answered her. His story seemed to warm her insides a little. She wondered looking at him if she could smile like he was now ever again.

"So your parents weren't wizards?" she asked him.

 _Filth…_ The voice said after she finished. She ignored it.

"I'm actually not entirely sure if they were or weren't. I was adopted so I don't know if my birth parents knew of magic or not. My adopted parents weren't wizards though. The tournament over the summer was actually their first time seeing me do my magic," he answered her again.

"I bet they were impressed with it. I know I and everyone else there was. Daphne did not stop researching stuff in our library all summer trying to figure out how you won. I did too to be honest, it was incredible how you beat everyone there."

She had certainly been one of the many people impressed with Marik's performance over the summer. Her sister truthfully had been right in Diagon alley when she had accused her of only wanting to research charms and dueling over the summer more because of what she had seen Marik do in his duels. His magic had been inspiring and amazing to watch. She had just wanted to be able to do the things he had done.

"Really? Haha. That makes me happy even though I know it shouldn't," Marik laughed. "So what did you need to clear your head from?" he asked her changing the topic.

"What do you mean?" she asked him nervously.

"You said you come here when you want to get away from things and clear your head. So what is it that is on your mind," he asked her, looking concerned.

More like _who_ is _in_ your mind she wanted to say. She tried to think of a way to avoid his question. As nice and open as he was being to her she could not answer him honestly. Nor did she really know how to.

"It's nothing. I was just having a bad day is all," she said, not entirely lying.

"What made it bad? Did that kid with the messed up nose pick on you again or something?" Marik's question confused her.

"What kid with messed up nose do you keep talking about? And again? I don't remember anyone picking on me," she asked him confused still.

"I was just joking. And I'm talking about the kid you dueled in the hallway like three weeks ago!" Marik answered.

"I never dueled anyone," she responded, still confused at what he was talking about.

"You need to work on your lying. That's where I remembered you from. My friend Harry, oh wait he is your cousin. Right, your cousin got injured so we were taking him up to the hospital wing when we stumbled across you dueling some Hufflepuff boy. You ran off pretty quick but his nose was pretty messed up. I just figured he had picked on you or something. You did a hell of a job with your spells though, they were powerful as hell for a first year," he explained.

She was in shock at what he said. She had dueled someone and hurt another student! The worst thing was she had no memory of even doing it… People had seen her do it. _Marik_ had seen her do it. Tears returned to her eyes at what she had learned.

"Hey hey hey! I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you. I take it back! Please stop crying. I'm sorry," Marik tried to apologize to her. "Here I'll change the subject to something else uhhh…" She could make out him scrambling to think of something between her tears.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. I'm just a basket case right now," That was downplaying it majorly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked her. He looked sincere with his question.

"You already are. I Promise," she answered truthfully. If she had remembered how to smile she would have tried to then. They both just sat there in silence for another few minutes. His eyes had returned to looking over the lake. She was tired of looking at the girl in the water so she shifted her eyes to the boy in the water. She liked looking at his reflection better than hers.

"Thank you for checking up on me. I'm sorry I tried to stun you," she apologized, feeling embarrassed.

"I should count myself lucky. I guess that you're nothing like your sister. If I had snuck up on her a stunner would have been the last thing she cast on me," he replied.

"You think I am different than Daphne?" she asked intrigued.

"Miles. Daphne is a smart witch and a hell of a student but she gives off. . . I don't know how to say it… a bad aura? Does that make sense?" he tried to explain. He sure did stutter with his words a lot. It was cute though, like he was trying extra hard to make sure he didn't say anything else to make her cry again.

"Not really." She found herself giggling again at his struggle with words.

"Haha, Let me try again. Like when I walk in a room that your sister is in, the room feels angry and cold. But when I'm sitting here next to you it feels calming, genuine, and I don't know… warm? Yeah I know I'm cheesy!" Marik said. For the first time in as long as she could remember she felt a tug on her lips. She turned her gaze to the girl in the water and almost did not recognize the reflection. The girl in the water was smiling. She was smiling.

"Thank you," she told him as sincerely as she could, still looking at the strange image of her smiling on the water in front of her. The girl's eyes in the water looked blue again. They seemed to be almost as bright in the water as the moon's reflection and the grey eyes looking at her were. The two people in the water looked happy. They both seemed to be in a different world where all was right as they just sat there with their feet dipped in the water and stared at each other smiling. If only that was real. If only they both could really be like that forever.

"So when are you going to give me some dirt on Daphne that I can use on her next time she gives me a hard time?" Marik asked playfully after a few moments of silence. She turned her gaze from his reflection to meet his eyes. Somehow they were even brighter and prettier than they were in his reflection.

"I can't here remember. What happens at the lake has to stay at the lake!" she playfully said back.

"Ahh of course, how could I forget the golden rule." Marik replied sarcastically.

"You better not forget the golden rule!" she added with another giggle.

"It won't happen again I promise," he said with the smirk she had already so quickly grown used to.

The two of them sat there for a while longer in silence, just staring over the water. The moon seemed brighter and the waves more quiet now. Marik had started moving his feet back and forth again in the water and each time his feet moved he sent a flurry of small waves towards her ankles. The water felt warm and good brushing against her legs. For the first time in a while she felt. . . happy. It was a feeling she had forgotten and had not felt in a long time. She wanted to hold onto that feeling for forever.

"Well much longer and my feet are going to be raisans. I think I am going to head back in. Can I walk you back to your common room? I would feel better and would be able to sleep easier if I knew you weren't still out here alone and upset," he asked her as he took his feet out of the water.

"Yeah. . . I would like that," she answered instinctively, again before she really knew what she was saying. He stretched out his hand again towards her and she took it. She took his hand and felt a sensation of warmness spread through her as he lifted her up from where they were sitting. It took biting her lip to keep the gasp of air inside her mouth as he lifted her.

"Do you think Peeves is gone now?" she asked him as they dried off their feet together in the grass.

"Who knows knowing Peeves. Hopefully he is just pulling a prank somewhere else in the castle out of the way," Marik answered as he rolled his pant's legs back down.

"Speaking of Peeves what were you in the restricted section for anyways? Isn't is supposed to be _restricted_?" she playfully asked.

"Says the girl who is out past curfew!" Marik playfully said back with a wink. "And my friend Hermione is really busy preparing for the dueling tournament tomorrow and didn't have time to go look for books on her own so she had me looking for a book that might help her out," Marik answered as he put his shoes back on.

"Help her look for books on what?" she asked curiously as they turned towards the school.

"Oh she has been going crazy trying to research the Chamber of Secrets ever since the teachers found that writing on the wall saying it had been opened. I was just looking for something that might he…" Marik started to finish his answer before she interrupted him.

"WHAT! WHY? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CHAMBER!" She was shouting at him.

"Shh! You will wake up the castle talking that loud. I don't know anything about the Chamber that's why I was trying to find a book… Are you okay? You look really pale all of the sudden?" he asked looking suspicious.

 _Did he know? Was that why he had come to her? Was he pretending to be nice just to use her for information?_

 _Kill…_ The voice returned.

"Alina? Are you okay? Your eyes they. . ." Marik started to say.

" _STUPEFY!"_ She. . . or the the voice cast the spell in a blink of an eye. Marik had long ago put away his wand and the spell from that distance collided with him within a half second. His body went flying towards the forest and landed with a loud thud. Part of her wanted to run towards him and apologize. That part of her disappeared quickly though. That part of her was gone now.

 _It's time… Come to me… It's time to begin… It's time to kill…_ The voice ordered her and the world around her and what for a few moments had become a much brighter place quickly faded to black.

* * *

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	18. Book2: Chapter 7

**Hermione**

"Where is Marik?" she shouted angrily at Harry who was sitting beside her. The majority of students in the castle had already made their way into the Great Hall to grab the good seats for the tournament and he was still nowhere in site. She let her eyes wander around the Hall as she spoke. Just like she and Marik had done last year she could see quite a few first years had notepads out ready to take notes on the magic they saw. The sight brought back a little bit of nostalgia.

"He said he would be here Hermione relax. He took my cloak to go into the restricted section last night to look for a book about the Chamber of Secrets because of _your_ request. Knowing him he probably went looking through other books while he was there or went out exploring all night. He probably just overslept," Harry answered her in his best _calm-down-Hermione_ voice. She had gotten used to that voice over the past week.

It was hard to believe that it was already the first week of December, and already three weeks since the day her and Marik had seen the writing on the wall about the Chamber of Secrets. It ended up that Miss Norris the cat had not been killed, but had been petrified and would recover in just a few weeks. The teachers all said that it was most likely a prank that someone took too far, however, since that day all of the professors had been much more uptight and strict about things around the castle. Marik had even received a detention from Kingsley, who everyone knew thought of Marik as his favorite student, for being ten seconds late to class a few days back.

Outside of the teachers seeming more tense nothing else had happened since the first event and for the most part all was back to normal inside the castle. Well at least for everyone else in the castle. For her the small amount of time since the day she and Marik had seen the writing on the wall had been the most stressful time she had experienced at Hogwarts to date. She would never admit it to Harry but he had probably been right when he said he didn't tell her about Dobby's warnings because he knew she would worry too much. The fact was she had indeed been worrying way to much.

Since that day she had been making the three of them do all the research they could on the Chamber of Secrets, any famous heirs, and petrification magic whenever they had a free moment. So far all of their research had led to zero actual amounts of useful information though. The only realistic living known famous heir they could find was an heir to the Grummins family who had dueled his own brother for rights to their family property. But both of them were put in Azkaban fifteen years ago as a result of the duel for killing a nearby observer and neither one had ever even attended Hogwarts so that ruled them out.

She had taken the lead on researching the Chamber of Secrets and had even gone so far as to ask a few professors about it. The only information she received from all of her research and questions though was that there used to be a rumor that Hogwarts had a hidden Chamber built by one of the founders. No one knew where it was, if it was real, or what was inside of it. Or if they did they were not telling her or the students. Basically what it all meant to her was that she had wasted her time over the past few weeks and gotten nowhere, which drove her insane.

Luckily Harry and Marik had found ways to break through her stress and still found time to help her study, practice, and most importantly calm down. She had no idea how Harry was able to act so calm all the time about everything. Especially since he was the only one of them who had actually been warned that something bad might happen. He seemed to only pay the situation attention when she asked him to, but when she didn't he acted as normal as ever like nothing was wrong.

The two of them had made up that day in the hospital wing. Looking back she admitted it was a petty reason to get angry at him in the first place and she had been a tad bit selfish. Thankfully though from that point on Harry seemed to be a lot more up front about a lot of things to her and their friendship had returned to normal.

At first Marik had told Harry as _punishment_ for him not telling them about Dobby that Harry wasn't allowed to practice for the dueling tournament with them. It really wasn't punishment directed at Harry it was just that she and Marik had made a lot of progress on her dueling and spellwork while Harry was in the hospital and she had made Marik promise not to tell Harry about the spells she was working on.

In the end though Marik felt bad for favoring her over Harry and ended up splitting his free time between helping her duel and helping Harry practice. Damn him for being a good friend.

While she and Harry had made up and were good friends again, they were still as competitive as ever when it came to this tournament. Harry had been the one to knock her out of it last year, so this year she was excited to get her revenge.

High stress levels aside she had somehow managed to make a lot of good progress on her magic and dueling. She had practiced the _gemino_ spell every day and her skill with the spell had increased greatly. Unlike during her first duel with Marik she was now able to summon a few more clones with less magic, control each one's movement better, and she had even managed to get her clones to move individually and follow formations. In her last practice session she managed to completely surround Marik with clones while she had hidden herself in the corner of the room and hit him with a stunner winning the duel.

Even though she may have only been practicing for the tournament for two months, she had been mentally waiting for this day for much longer. She was confident now that if it came to a match-up of her versus Harry that she would be able to beat him this time. For now though she was stuck sitting in the uncomfy stands waiting anxiously for the tournament to begin.

"Why did he have to wait until the day of the tournament to stress me out? He knows how important this is to me," she said frustrated.

"He always stresses you out Hermione. It's Marik we are talking about here. And Marik knows how important this tournament is to _us._ He will be here soon." Harry tried to console her.

She knew she was taking her stress out on him. For the past week Harry had been her personal stress punching bag. As bad as she felt for taking it out on him she really could not help it sometimes.

"So how are you feeling? Are you ready?" Harry asked from beside her.

"I'm fine Harry thanks. And yes I am ready. I've been working hard for a while to get ready for this. I won't be going down so easy this year! How about you?" she asked him.

"I barely slept at all last night I was so anxious. I ended up staying up reading all night. I was even thinking about practicing spells that would help me if I collide with the glass again this year," Harry joked.

"Well maybe if you do you will make another friend In the hospital this time too," she went along with his joke and gave him a wink.

"I think I got enough of those already. Look over there," Harry pointed across the Hall. "Daphne looks as focused as ever." Sure enough the ice-queen looked every bit her normal self as she made her way into the Hall with her usual crew of Slytherins. Outside of Harry, since Marik was not participating in this tournament, Daphne would be one of her biggest adversaries this time around. And from what Hermione knew about Daphne there was no way in hell she would go down as easy this time around.

"I doubt she will go down as easy this year. I bet whoever duels her will have to put up much more a fight," she said to Harry.

"Yeah, I forgot she went against Marik last year. She is probably looking for revenge this time around," Harry replied and she nodded in agreement.

"Her and me both!" Hermione said, giving Harry a mischievous grin.

The remainder of students from the castle filled their way into the bleachers in the Great Hall over the next few minutes. As the last few stragglers made their way in there was still no sign of Marik anywhere. Part of her was starting to get worried about him. Marik and her had been working way too hard for this day for him to be late. Even if he could be difficult sometimes Marik would never skip out on something like this. She knew even though he wasn't participating that he knew how important this was to the both of them.

She shook the worry away and tried to focus on the task at hand. She was always worrying too much. She would not let him being tardy keep her from winning the tournament this time around! The doors to the Great Hall began to close. The students in the Hall quieted as the Headmaster made his way up to the podium.

"Welcome all to the second annual Hogwarts dueling tournament. This tournament is being held again in the honor of our very own Professor Flitwick being crowned the dueling master of Europe again for the twelfth consecutive year. Please let us give him a round of applause," Dumbledore announced and the stands filled with applause. As a fellow Ravenclaw she made the extra effort to applaud louder than those around her for her Head of House.

"Before we begin I would like to go over the rules for the tournament. For those who took part in the tournament last year these rules will be similar so bare with me. First, you were all given the prohibited types of magic and spell lists for your year by your Heads of Houses, if any prohibited spells are used not only will you forfeit your spot in the tournament, but you may find yourself on the Express back home.

"The tournament will be divided by year level and in each level the tournament will follow a bracket style of randomly chosen matches until only a single student remains. Rounds will have a time limit of five minutes each. Any duels lasting longer than that will be ruled as a draw with no winner. As you were told before by your professors your performance, abilities shown, and spell usage in today's tournament will play a factor in your overall ability grade by your professors at the end of the term," Dumbledore said to the crowd of students and then continued.

"As well the winner of each year will also go on to represent Hogwarts in the second annual European Magic Students Dueling Championship. The winner of that tournament will have the opportunity to try and beat the winner of their year from last year's tournament and steal their title as the Dueling Champion of Europe. Now it is time to let the tournament begin!" Dumbledore announced to the Great Hall and the stands erupted into cheers.

Just as it had last year, a tournament bracket started to appear overhead of the teachers table. This time around she would have to wait on the first years before she got her chance to duel. At least that meant that this time she would actually get to watch some other duels outside of her year. The students in the Hall quieted as the first two names started to appear on the first bracket lines.

"The first duel will be between… Luna Lovegood and… Ginny Weasley!" Dumbledore announced the two first year names.

"I didn't know there was another Weasley at Hogwarts," she whispered to Harry. There had to be at least eight of them here it felt like. Momma Weasley sure was a busy women.

"Yeah, Ginny seems like she actually has her head screwed on better than Ron does though. I've seen her cast a number of spells in the common room before and she seems pretty good," Harry whispered back.

The two girls made their way up to the dueling platform, bowed, and retreated to their sides. The Weasley girl outside of the red hair did not resemble her brothers at all. Ron normally had a clueless look to him and the twins had a permanent laugh and smirk glued to their faces. This Ginny girl though looked much more hardened and almost gave off kind of a Daphne cold-type of appearance.

On the other side the Luna looked… well she looked like Luna. Being in Ravenclaw she had seen the girl multiple times throughout the year so far. Most of their encounters had been awkward and left Hermione confused.

Luna was a very pretty girl who just looked and acted different than most people at Hogwarts. Luna's school robes had been dyed to have a pink hue to them and as a result she stuck out like a sore thumb on the stage. Along with her robes, her glasses frames looked like they had been made for a princess in some fantasy movie with all the gems and stones on them.

The two duelists looked like complete opposites. However after seeing someone like Fleur, who looked more like a model than a duelist, duel over the summer she knew one should never count someone out based on appearances. Hopefully this duel would be a good one.

"One. . . Two . . . Three!" Dumbledore counted the duel off and it began.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Ginny cast the spell quickly and was off running immediately after Dumbledore said three.

" _Finite incantatum!"_ Luna cast the spell and stopped Ginny's incoming spell at the middle of the platform where it shortly after vanished.

" _Tarantallegra!"_ Ginny sent another spell flying at Luna as she continued moving.

" _Densaugeo!"_ Luna cast the spell Hermione had never heard of towards the moving Ginny.

 _That's strange._ Hermione thought to herself as the events unfolded. The strange thing was not Luna's spell though, but that Luna made no attempt to dodge Ginny's dancing spell. Instead the spell hit Luna and her body and she started dancing. Luna seemed to be enjoying it though as she was just smiling and going along with it like it was nothing. Ginny was looking on from the other side confused.

" _Rictumsempra, engorgio!"_ The dancing luna continued to fire off spells at the confused Ginny. Ginny was able to barely dodge the incoming tickling spell after she recovered her composure. However the enlarging spell hit Ginny's foot as she tried to move again resulting in her left shoe growing about ten times in size. That seemed to annoy Ginny.

" _Expelliarmus, petrificus totalus, immobulus!"_ Ginny fired off the three spells in anger. It wasn't a great spell chain combo but the fierce furiosity the spells were cast with resulted in the spells all being quite powerful.

" _Protego!"_ Luna threw up the shield spell as she continued to dance. The first disarming spell collided with the shield but Luna quickly learned that a normal powered _protego_ was only good for one or two spells. Ginny's next spell collided with Luna's chest and bound her, sending her body to the ground with a thud.

Ginny had won. The stands, lead by the Gryffindors erupted into applause.

"Wow. One duel in an already things have gotten interesting. That was a pretty good duel," Harry said from beside her.

"Yeah, they both were pretty good. I've never heard of someone taking a spell like that and just rolling with it like Luna did. It was weird for sure, but could probably be applied to other scenarios," she commented to Harry.

"Oh so you are finally talking strategies with me now huh?" Harry joked.

"Nope!" Was all she said in return forgetting that for the next few hours Harry was the enemy. The next two names began to appear on the bracket.

"The next duel will be between… Colin Creevy… and… Alina Black!" Dumbledore announced the next two names. She could see Harry perk up at the announcement of his cousin's name. Hermione was interested to see her duel too. One to see if she was anywhere near as good as her sister was; two because of the fact she had already seen the girl dueling in the hallways and was intrigued to see if she could beat other first years the way she beat that Hufflepuff boy.

A small lanky boy a few rows down from them got up from the stands and made his way to the stage. However he was the only one making their way up to the stage.

"Alina Black come to the stage! Must I remind you that this tournament will play a part in your overall grade at the end of the year!" Dumbledore announced from his podium. Still Alina did not stand up or appear anywhere in the Hall.

After a few moments of awkward silence and murmurs fluttering through the students the doors to the Great Hall opened swiftly. Mr. Filch was running through them towards the Headmaster. Mr. Filch was sweating profusely and his whole body was shaking.

 _Something was wrong._ She thought to herself as she watched with worried eyes.

The Headmaster and Mr. Filch discussed something for a few moments. When it seemed their discussion was over the Headmaster moved to the teacher's table and began discussing something with them.

"Hermione what do you think is going on?" Harry quietly asked her, she could sense a bit of concern in his words.

"I have no idea Harry," she whispered back. The professors reactions to whatever the Headmaster was saying made it clear that something was indeed wrong. The Headmaster finished telling them whatever Filch had told him and made his way back to the podium.

"The dueling tournament has been cancelled. All students are to calmly follow the professor's down to the Hogwarts Express. Owl's will be sent to your family's at once informing them that you will be arriving at King's Cross station soon. You will be starting an early extended holiday break. As of today, until further notice Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is closed," Dumbledore announced. His words fell like a ton of bricks onto her and the rest of the students.

Hogwarts was closed…

They were being sent home. . .

The stands of students around her erupted into panic following the announcement.

"SILENCE! You will all now follow the professor's _silently_ and _calmly_ to the express. NOW!" Dumbledore shouted and the Hall silently began to follow his orders.

"Harry…" she started saying, but her voice was already cracking. She could feel tears forming in her eyes.

"Hermione come on. And no before you ask I don't know what is going on either," Harry responded. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up and along with him as the group of students made their way out of the Great Hall.

"Harry!" she shouted as they made their way out of the front doors to outside. It felt like she had just been hit with a ton of bricks.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked, looking concerned.

"MARIK!" she said his name and tears began to pour out uncontrollably.

Marik had never shown up at the Great Hall for the tournament. He had been in the restricted section or somewhere in the castle because of her. Now they were all leaving and he probably had no clue… Or worse… maybe he had to do with the reason the school was closing.

"Marik will be fine Hermione don't worry." Harry tried to console her. "There is no way he missed all of these people leaving the castle he is probably just somewhere in this group. We will find him on the train I promise," Harry said to her grabbing her tighter.

With the worried tears streaming down her face all she managed to do was nod. She hoped that Harry was right.

The large group of students slowly made their way down to the Hogwarts Express. Unlike the usual buzz the students had whenever they were leaving for home on the train this time it all was replaced by an eerie silence. No one seemed to be talking out loud, yet everyone's faces were saying the same thing. Why?

 _Why was the school being closed? Something bad must have happened, or was about to happen. But what? And where the hell was Marik!_

They arrived after the short walk to the train were they patiently waited for the row of students in front of them to board. On the train Harry led her to one of the first empty compartments they could find. She got a seat next to the window so she could look out into the crowd and try to find Marik. As much as she tried to believe Harry and as much as she willed herself to be positive her gut had the strong feeling that Marik was not in the crowd. Deep down she knew he wasn't coming.

For the next half hour the two of them sat silently and stared out the window. Each time someone opened their door to see if their compartment was empty her heart broke a little inside. It took all she had not to break down into tears again. Thirty minutes of sitting and waiting and still no Marik.

"Hermione look," Harry was pointing up the hill. Bright pops of magic could be seen appearing all across the hill. Out of each pop emerged a witch or wizard, all of which looked to be wearing ministry or auror colored robes.

"It must be something really bad if the ministry and aurors are getting involved," she said as she and Harry watched a few more people appear. With each pop her worry level increased.

"I wonder if it has to do with the Chamber of Secrets, or if it is something else," Harry added.

"Do you think this is what Dobby was warning you about?" she asked him curiously.

"It might be. I still think the elf just had a screw loose though," Harry answered and stared down at his feet. He always did that at the mention of the house elf.

The conversation between them died back down as the last few students got aboard the train. She failed to hold back the tears this time. Harry came over to her side of the compartment and tried to console her but it was no use. Their friend was not on this train. Marik was missing.

The whistle that had brought her so much joy during their first trip from King's Cross station signaled their departure. This time the whistle only brought her pain. That made the tears worse. Their compartment shook as the wheels began turning and the view from their window began to change.

The sky outside of their window reflected the mood of the students inside the train. Dark clouds blotched out the sun and the sky was covered in a dark shade of grey. The castle was soon devoured by the mountains in their view and as the clouds began to burst and let rain fall. By then her eyes had already dried and began to ache as they searched for more tears.

"Potter!" someone from the door of their compartment shouted. She quickly jerked her head around with her hopes up. No luck though. It was just Daphne.

"Not now Daphne," was all Harry replied with, his voice cracking.

"Yes now." Daphne closed the compartment door and cast a silencing spell on it. "I can't find Alina," Daphne announced to Harry coldly.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I looked in every compartment, I waited by the door of the train, I even had my friends check the luggage racks to see if someone was playing a prank. Alina wasn't in the Great Hall for the tournament and Alina isn't here." For a second it looked like Daphne was about to cry. However, that face was quickly replaced by one of no emotions.

"Alina too?" Hermione whispered.

"What do you mean too?" Daphne asked the question and seemed to immediately come to the answer on her own as she looked around the compartment. "Where is Marik?" she demanded.

"We don't know," Harry answered. His voice was broken as he talked. She brought him into a hug. This was the first time she had ever seen him like this. It sort of reminded her of when they met in the hospital wing, though the feeling was much sadder this time.

"How don't you both know? You all are glued to the freaking hip. What the hell is going on?" Daphne was shouting now.

"He never showed up for the dueling tournament either. He was out last night so we figured he was sleeping in. But that doesn't seem to be the case," she answered, her voice weary.

"Why was he out last night?" Daphne asked curiously but before she could answer a student opened up their door. This time Hermione did not get her hopes up.

"Daphne!" The voice belonging to Pansy Parkinson called out.

"You found her?" Daphne stood up looking hopeful.

" No…" Pansy answered. Daphne's face returned. "But I heard something I thought you ought to know," Pansy said nervously.

"What is it?" Daphne snapped.

"Well. . . I think I should tell you in private," Pansy muttered out.

"Just say it damn it!" Daphne screamed at the girl.

"Okay. . . well I overheard McGonagall talking to Snape when I got on the train. I didn't hear everything but they were going over the train manifest. And… Well three students did not board the train. The only name I heard before I came here was your sister's…" Pansy paused.

The look that appeared on Daphne's face was one that she never thought she would see in her time. Daphne was crying. Daphne had her head in her hands and was shaking. Pansy moved to hug her but was pushed off from Daphne, who looked like she was trying to dry her tears quickly.

"Is that all?" Daphne asked coldly after a few brief moments. Her eyes seemed to be dry and have returned to their normal state.

"Actually…" Pansy paused. "Snape told McGonagall that your sister had been the _one,_ taken into the Chamber. I don't know what it means but I thought you might," Pansy looked scared as she talked to Daphne. The compartment went silent for a while, no one wanting to break it. Daphne finally spoke up.

"Pansy leave now," Daphne ordered.

"Daphne?" Pansy asked.

"Now!" Daphne shouted. The girl in a panic turned and in a rush and made her way out of their compartment.

"Daphne I'm sorry," Harry said as the door closed.

"Shut up Harry! Don't feel sorry for me. Alina is your damn cousin too! And you heard Pansy. She said McGonagall said that there were three students missing. That means one of them is Marik too. We are all in the same boat here," Daphne snapped.

"We have to do something…" Hermione found herself saying.

"Hermione what can we do? The school is closed and we are already miles away from it now. Plus there are already aurors and ministry officials there," Harry replied.

"I don't know but we have to do something. Marik is our friend Harry and he might be in danger! I can't just sit by and hope. I have to do something," her voice was raising as she talked.

"I have to do something too. Alina is… So let's do something," Daphne acknowledged her. She was in a little bit of shock at Daphne's words. Not only was the ice-queen sitting in their compartment but now she was asking to do something with her and Harry.

"Do something like what?" Harry asked the two of them.

"Like find a way back to Hogwarts first. Then we can plan a way to find Marik and Alina!" she answered him.

"But Hermione the castle is full of ministry and auror officials. Even if we made it back there somehow we wouldn't make it far. I don't even have my cloak, Marik took it last night," Harry added. Daphne's eyebrow raised in curiosity when Harry mentioned his cloak.

"Then we will find a way Harry. We fought a fully grown mountain troll to protect each other last year! If we can stand against that what makes standing up against some politicians and aurors so different?" She found herself shouting the last few words out.

"That was you guys?" Daphne asked with her eyebrows raised again.

"Not now Daphne," she snapped. "So are you in Harry?" she asked with the most intimidating face she could make.

"That's not fair…" he said calling out the face she had put on. "Of course I'm in. Let's do this," Harry responded.

"Okay, first we need to figure out a way to get back to Hogwarts. We can't just leave the train now so it will have to be from King's Cross," she pointed out.

"All of our parents will be waiting there. So we will have to find a way to get past them or something," Daphne added the good point.

"Well none of us can apparate, we can't just walk the train tracks that would take too long so what does that leave us?" Harry asked.

"We can floo!" Daphne said looking hopeful. It was not a face that fit her.

"No we can't. Hogwarts has protections against incoming floo transportations," she rebutted.

"I know that Granger! But the Ministry has a few fireplaces that are connected and have access to the castle. My mother used one of them when she had to come meet with Dumbledore for work earlier this year," Daphne explained.

"That's great and would work, but if we can't get into Hogwarts how can we expect to get into the Ministry?" Harry asked. No one seemed to have an answer. They all sat their silently.

"Daphne!" She shouted as soon as the idea hit her. "Do you have anymore of that _polyjuice potion_ left over?" she asked.

"At home I do why?" Daphne asked, looking unsure of where Hermione was going with this.

"We can use that to get in. We just have to snag some hairs from some ministry workers and then we can walk all around the ministry without drawing attention," she explained her idea to them.

"How are we going to get hairs? And how am I going to get you the potion let alone get to the ministry if I'm at home?" Daphne asked.

"Well… We can all just sneak out tonight and meet up… As for the hairs I'm not proud of it but I will come out and say I'm okay with stunning a few workers to save Marik. As long as we don't hurt them that is," she answered. Harry looked like he was seeing a ghost at hearing her words.

"Hermione Granger you surprise me everyday. As for the hairs I think I have an idea," Harry said with a smile that had been absent the entire train ride.

"What is it?" Daphne asked.

"Our parents Daphne. I can get one of my mother's hairs for Hermione and you can get one of your mother's hairs for you. That way at least you two have can try and get one for me once we get there," Harry explained his idea.

"Why would your mother's be at the Ministry?" she asked Harry.

"They both do a lot of their work there. I know for a fact they have to spend a lot of late nights there working so it would be a good cover story to be there so late," Harry answered her. So far that did seem like their best option, although Harry would need a disguise as well.

"Do either of you know how to get to the ministry… I'm afraid I've never been," she admitted.

"Yeah, we do," they both said in unison.

"I'm not sure about the locations of the floo fireplaces though. Although I guarantee the Minister's office would probably have one," Daphne admitted.

"Well if we manage to get into the ministry without getting caught by our parents, or ministry security I think we will be okay winging that part," Harry said.

"I agree," Daphne added. It was still weird having a conversation like this with her.

"Well it's a plan then… kind of… Let's work out some of the minor details before we arrive to at least make sure we are all on the same page," she told the others.

The rest of the train ride went by quicker than the beginning had and even the mood seemed to get a little better. The three of them went over directions and details for meeting up later that night. Luckily they all lived fairly close to each other and one of the ministry employee entrances was also nearby so it seemed like their plan might even be possible. That is if they managed to sneak out, meet up, break into the ministry, floo to Hogwarts, find Marik and Alina all without getting caught. Easy enough.

As the train pulled into King's Cross station her mood had totally changed. The tears in her eyes had been replaced with a fierce determination.

"We are coming Marik," she said to herself as the trained rolled to a stop and the whistle blew, this time its sound filled her with hope.

* * *

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	19. Book2: Chapter 8

**Marik**

"Alina!" he called out through heavy breaths as the world around him returned. A shot of pain went through his chest as he sat up and tried to adjust his eyes. Why the hell did she hit him with a stunner? One second all had seemed right in the world and then a few moments later she was freaking out and he was getting stunned at point blank range.

 _Kingsley would be pissed if he found out I just got stunned and knocked out from a first year._ He thought to himself, fearing how long the dark arts professor would hold this over his head. It would probably be best to leave this story out in his next lesson.

His eyes were still fuzzy from the stunner and were taking their time adjusting to the world around him. What the hell had happened? He tried to rack his memory but it was just as fuzzy as his vision was.

 _Her eyes…_ Her eyes were the last thing he remembered seeing before getting stunned. Alina's eyes had been a beautiful shade of bright blue, like the color of the ocean in the Caribbean. They had been the first thing his eyes had been drawn to when he found her crying by the lake. Even after crying her eyes had reflected off the water just as brightly as the moon's silvery reflection had. But then…

Alina's eyes had turned from blue to red in a few blinks right before she had hit him with the stunner. The girl as a whole seemed to change along with her eyes in the process. In an instant she switched from the personable girl he had relished meeting to a completely different person. Even her voice had changed from a soft sweet tone to a raspy hollow sounding voice.

His eyes took their time adjusting but eventually he was able to make out his surroundings. Neither the girl or the lake were in sight. Instead the lake had been replaced by a sea of dark green trees and the girl's voice had been replaced by a song of singing birds from the canopy overhead. It seemed he had somehow ended up on the edge of the forbidden forest.

 _Did she bring me here?_ He wondered. The castle was just in sight from where he was currently situated. However, the spot he was sitting at now was at least a five minute walk from where they had been together at the lake.

He tried to find the sun in the sky to see how long he had been out for. It was already on a downwards path in the sky which meant…

"OH GOD! OH GOD I'M DEAD," he said out loud panicking to himself. Hermione was going to kill him!

If it was already getting close to dinner time that meant he had missed the tournament. And getting stunned by Daphne's little sister would not be a good enough excuse to calm the beast that was Hermione.

Hopefully Hermione won the tournament. Then at least her anger would be slightly less. However if Hermione lost… A chill and shiver went down his spine and he tried to shake the thought. No amount of stunners would come close to the pain Hermione would inflict on him for missing her duel.

"Sorry Harry but I have my fingers crossed that Hermione won right now," he said to himself.

He was surprised no one had seen his body laying there. He was right on the edge of the forest after all. The front doors of the castle were in sight from where he was currently sitting and on a weekend surely someone would have walked by.

 _How had nobody seen him?_ He wondered. His question was immediately answered though as he shifted his gaze down towards his feet, which surprisingly at first he could not find. Harry's cloak he guessed had been covering his body judging by the fact that it still was covering his legs.

 _Did Alina cover me?_ He wondered to himself. He took off the cloak and patted himself down to see if he still had all of his possessions on hand, everything checked out to be where it was supposed to be. His wand was still in his robe's pocket and his bag still had the books he had _borrowed_ from the restricted section in them.

His body was sore all over and the pain in his chest made it hard to stand up. Based on the pain he was feeling it seemed that Alina was quite the strong spellcaster, her _stupefy_ hurt almost as bad as Hermione's did. Although getting hit with a _stupefy_ from two inches away hurt regardless of a caster's power level.

He was going to be in a lot more pain though when Hermione saw him. His best bet was to just rip the band aid off as quickly as possible and get it over with. She would forgive him… hopefully… by seventh year. He would deal with the crazy Hermione first then he could search and look around for the crazy Alina and find out what the hell her problem was.

Even though he was not required to be at the dueling tournament that day, in case a professor had taken note of his absence, or in case he found an angry Hermione waiting to pounce he decided he would make his way back into the castle under Harry's cloak. The only thing that was close to as scary as an angry Hermione was an angry McGonagall, so he would make sure he was not caught sneaking back in by either one of the witches.

He put the cloak back over himself and made his way out of the edge of the forest and towards the front gate of the castle. The grounds seemed extra quiet to him for some reason today. Usually on weekends the grounds were filled with students practicing magic outside or hanging out on the lawn but today there was nobody. Surely students should be out on the grounds by now. The tournament should have long been over by this time. Maybe the tournament had started later this year?

It was a short walk to the front doors of the castle from where he had woken up in the forest. More weird than there being no students on the grounds was the fact that the front doors were closed. In his short time at Hogwarts he had never once seen the front doors closed except after curfew. Out of instinct he reached in his robe's pocket and took out his wand. He slowly pushed in one of the doors to create just enough room for him to squeeze in.

"Who's there!" a voice shouted. Leaving the door ajar he quickly bolted through the space he had made into the entrance hall. He had expected the voice to have come from a professor or Mr. Filch but instead the voice came from someone he had never seen before. He backed himself into a corner away from where people might walk before observing the situation in the entrance more.

The voice had come from a man in dark blue robes. The robes looked similar to the auror robes that Kingsley wore sometimes. Sure enough as the man turned around he could make out a silver wand pin on the man's collar, signifying that he was in fact an auror.

 _Why are aurors at Hogwarts?_ He thought to himself. Loud footsteps announced the arrival of another auror from down the hallway.

"Why is that door open Marx?" the new voice was shouting angrily.

"It just opened on its own sir. There is no one here. It must have been the wind or something sir," the voice belonging to the auror named Marx answered, not sounding confident in his answer.

"Wind doesn't open doors that big Marx. Something is definitely going on here. Blood writing on the walls, two students missing, one student murdered, and now doors opening on their own. I told Albus to close this damn school and let us search it after the first incident! But that damn stubborn bastard…" the second voice continued to rant for a while longer but whatever he said Marik missed. His mind was racing on what he had heard them say.

"Someone had been killed… and two students were missing," he repeated under his breath. His mind immediately went to images of Harry. . . Hermione… and Alina. He left the corner he had been hiding in as quickly and quietly as he could to see if he could find his friends. He glanced inside the Great Hall as he passed by only to find that the dueling platform was still in place but the stands were void of any students.

He picked up his pace and headed towards the castle's dungeons to check out their potions lab. Along the way, the entirety of the student population in the school seemed to have been replaced by auror and ministry officials. Witches and wizards in auror blue robes and ministry red robes were stationed at every corner of the castle's first floor it seemed like. All of them looked unnerved and on edge.

The same was for the dungeons. From the school's entrance down to their lab he passed over fourteen stationed witches and wizards. He had no luck finding his friends let alone any other students in their labs though. His mind immediately went to the next spot that he thought they could be and he hurried off quietly in that direction.

His journey to the library to look for his friends led to the same results his other search had. It certainly seemed that all of the other students in the castle were gone. The castle's only inhabitants now seemed to be the aurors and ministry workers. He had not even seen a professor around yet.

 _Who had been killed? Who was missing? Was Hogwarts closed? Why?_ He wondered these questions and more as his mind continued to race and he thought about what he heard the voice in the entrance hall say.

He assumed he was one of the missing students judging from the fact that he was not with the rest of the students wherever they were. That meant that one other student was dead and one other was missing. The more he thought about it the more his mind worried that it was Harry or Hermione. Dobby's warning crossed his mind at the thought of his friends.

 _Was this what the house elf had warned Harry about?_

Still not ready to give up in search for his friends he left the library and headed towards the hospital wing. Two more ministry workers stood guard outside the closed doors to the hospital wing. He quickly opened the doors and quietly slipped past the two guards who panicked at the doors seemingly opening on their own. He remain unnoticed though and after a few head scratches and searches the guards closed the doors again. In side of the hospital wing there was no sight of any students or the usual presence of Madame Pomfrey.

Instead there was only one ministry worker sitting next to one of the hospital beds. His heart started pounding as he saw what the worker was sitting next to. On top of the hospital bed was a body bag. More images of Harry, Hermione, and Alina flashed through his mind at the sight. He did his his best to quickly shake the thoughts away, though he couldn't shake the pounding of his heart. He quietly cast a silencing spell on himself and made his way over to the bed.

As he arrived at the bed and behind the ministry worker he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to see, and for what he was about to do.

" _Stupefy!"_ He cast the stunner from behind the oblivious ministry worker who promptly collapsed in the chair he was sitting on. Moving closer to the bed he readied himself mentally one last time as he found the zipper on the bag.

"Oh thank god," he found himself saying out loud as he exhaled a huge sigh of relief, which briefly later he realised was highly inappropriate given the situation.

Thankfully the body was not Hermione, Harry, or Alina. Which meant that neither one of his friends had been the one murdered. The body instead belonged to a Hufflepuff student that he had never seen before. From his appearance the boy looked to be most likely a first year. As sad as the sight was he could not help the wave of relief that overtook him.

His friends were not dead. However he was still far from being at ease and still had questions that he needed answered. There was still another student missing. And he still had no clue where everyone was, what killed this boy, why a student was missing, and why there was ministry and auror officials here.

" _Muffliato_ , _umbrosio, rennervate!"_ He cast the spells quietly at the unconscious ministry worker. Five shadowy hands emerged from the ground and grasped each one of the man's arms and legs, and the final hand covered the man's mouth. His last spell hit the man and quickly brought him out of the effects of his earlier stunner. Panic filled the man's eyes as he took note of being stunned and now bound by shadowy hands. Marik decided it would be best to remain under the cloak to avoid any future trouble.

"I don't plan on hurting you. I just want to ask you a few questions, then I will release you. If you don't answer my questions… Nod once if you understand," Marik ordered. He really didn't want to hurt the poor guy, but he was not against hitting him with a few more stunners if it meant finding his friends. The man's eyes were darting all over the place trying to find the source of the voice. Eventually he nodded.

"I am going to release the hand from your mouth in a second. I have a silencing spell around us to make sure no one hears your answer. But even so if you make any attempt to yell or call for help…" Marik stopped talking. Instead of finishing his threat verbally this time he made each of the hands tighten their grips until the man winced. "Do you understand?" The man nodded much quicker this time.

"Okay, first question. Where are all the students in the school?" he asked the man the first question. The hand covering the man's mouth moved to allow him to answer.

"They. . . w-were. . . were all evacuated on on the tra-train this morning bac-back home," the man nervously answered. Even in the tight grips of his shadow magic the man's body was shaking intensely in fear.

"Why were they evacuated?" he asked the question assuming the reason had to do with the boy being killed.

"Because, this b-b-boy was found mur. . . murdered in the hallway and with the two mes-mes-messages the ministry feared another attack would happen," Tears were beginning to stream down the man's face as he spoke.

"What messages?"

"Someone or… s-something wrote with blood on the wall. I'm t-told this message was the sec-second one," the man answered nervously again.

"What did this message say? And where was it found?" he fired off another two questions.

"It said that _her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever._ It was discovered t-t-this morning by Mr. Filch I'm told in one of the dun-dungeon hallways," the man said, still shaking. His answer explained why there had been more guards in the dungeon then he had seen on the first floor.

"Whose skeleton? Who is the girl missing?" he shouted the question this time. The man didn't answer this time but just cowered over more and cried harder. He tightened the grip of his shadow hands. The man grimaced in pain.

"Answer me!" he shouted again.

"They said h-h-her name was Al-Alin-Alina B-Black! Please l-let m-me go!" the man cried out. Marik felt his heart drop. He had expected to be filled with happiness that the girl taken to the Chamber had not been Hermione, but instead all he felt now was sadness, disbelief, and rage.

"Alina…" he whispered the name to himself. _Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever._ The message replayed in his mind resulting in the sadness and anger inside him building.

"Who took her! Who murdered this boy!" he shouted more questions at the man.

"P-p-please stop," the man begged. "We don't know who wrote the messages, took the girl, or killed the boy. That's why the school was c-closed!" the man said, crying out another answer.

"Where is the Chamber of Secrets?" he asked the man.

"We don't know. . . know that either." The man was now heaving. Marik couldn't help his temper flaring up at the man's lack of information.

"Well what do you know?" Marik screamed the question at the man.

"I… I. . . I don don't kn. . . Know. . ." the man said through tears and heaves.

" _Stupefy!"_ The spell came flying out of his wand and nailed the wizard right in the face. He collapsed unconscious still held up by the shadow arms. Marik's body was shaking. He couldn't tell if it was more from the rage or from the despair he now felt.

Alina had been taken into the Chamber. The message said that her skeleton would lie there forever. The sweet girl he had spent half the night with just one night ago was now dying or already dead. The worst part was that the man said they had no clue who had taken her or where the Chamber even was. She was all alone somewhere and no one knew where to find her.

The more he thought about it the angrier he found himself getting. He wished Hermione and Harry were here with him, they would know what to do. They would know how to help. He was glad they were safely at home though.

"That poor girl…" he whispered from under the cloak. She was all alone right now. She was probably scared and crying again like she had been last night. He punched the hospital bed in anger.

He had to do something. He had to find Alina. He would not let her die. Even if she was just Daphne's sister she was… she was… well Harry's family too… He gathered himself off the ground and started rummaging through his mind to find somewhere in the castle to start looking for her. The only place he could think of as a starting point was to find the second message on the wall. Maybe there would be some clues there.

He snuck out of the hospital wing again. This time as the two guards saw the door opening by itself they began shouting orders after they noticed the guard's body lying unconscious in the hospital wing. He had been careless in there and let his anger get the best of him. He would now have to be more alert to make sure he wasn't caught.

After leaving the hospital wing he made his way down into the castle's dungeons. This time he journeyed past their potions lab further into the hallways.

Closer to the Slytherin common room he found the message the ministry worker in the hospital wing had told him about.

 _HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER_

 _FOREVER_.

The message read exactly as the man in the hospital wing said it had. Just like the first message this one again seemed to have been written in blood. The only difference in this message was the absence of a cat hanging from a torch bracket, and this time a boy had ended up dead. And. . . Alina was missing.

"Tonks, I'm taking over for you down here. Scrimgeour wants you to take my forest shift," a voice from down the hall said grabbing his attention from the wall. He moved over next to a suit of armor to avoid being detected.

"Uggh. Why does Scrimgeour want us in the forest anyways?" the auror near him named Tonks asked the wizard that just arrived in the hallway.

"Apparently, the school's half-giant oaf Hagrid ran in there when the ministry blokes showed up. Heard someone say summin bout them trying to arrest him because he was the one they accused of opening the Chamber up the last time," the voice answered.

"Hagrid opening up the chamber, killing a student, and kidnapping two others. That doesn't sound like something the Hagrid I know at all," the witch named Tonks said.

"Well if he is innocent or not it don't matter right now. Scrimgeour still wants you in the forest. Oh and the minister just arrived at the Great Hall to take a few photos for the prophet so stay clear of there if you want to avoid the bastard," the voice replied.

"The minister is here? Guess he wants the people to think he is actually doing something for once. Fine, I am going. Make sure Robbins stays up, she has dozed off twice already!" the witch replied and headed down the hall leaving him alone with the new auror guard in the dungeon hallway.

 _Hagrid opened the Chamber before._ He thought to himself. Could Hagrid really have done this? His father used to say that only the guilty ran, and that was what Hagrid was certainly doing now from what the aurors had said.

The auror had also said that the Minister of Magic was here in the castle too. Maybe he knew something that these aurors didn't. If not maybe at least he could get another clue. Right now all he had to go on was that Hagrid may or may not have opened the Chamber for the second time. He would check in the Great Hall first to see if the minister might know something and would then go check out the forest to look for Hagrid. That was all he had to go on right now.

He quietly left his spot from beside the suit of armour and made his way up out of the dungeons. The guards in the castle seemed to be on higher alert than they had been earlier. He assumed it was most likely his fault for that. The walk to the Great Hall was a short one from the dungeons entrance and thanks to Harry's cloak he remained for the moment still unseen.

The doors to the Great Hall were still open and inside them were a few ministry workers stationed here and there along with an opulently dressed round man, who he guessed was the minister, in the middle of the Hall talking with a few other people.

He quietly creeped into the Hall to get close enough to hear what they were saying. Unfortunately, unlike in the hospital wing there were too many people in the Great Hall to risk any interrogation. Plus it was probably in his best entrance not to stun the Minister of Magic. Hopefully at least he might be able to hear something that would help him find Alina. He tip-toed as quietly as he could closer to the group of people and minister at the center of the Hall.

"Alfred just get a few more shots here then I think a few by the message in the dungeon." The minister was saying to another ministry worker with a large camera. "And Lucia I want the article to be focused on the good work _I_ and the ministry officials are doing here to catch the culprit behind this, not on the Chamber. This is a good chance to gain some favor with the public if we handle this right," the minister continued through smiling teeth as he posed for the camera.

"Minister might I suggest instead of saying culprit that you say Hagrid. After all we _know_ he was the one responsible for opening the Chamber the first time. Whether the dense Headmaster will admit it or not," another ministry worker with long blonde hair that resembled a spitting image of an older Malfoy suggested.

"Of course, of course Lucius. And also for now don't mention either the boy's or girl's names, we don't want to cause any more panic. Let's keep this working to our advantage," the minister continued.

"Minister I doubt too many people would be upset when they hear the names. After all it was just a mudblood who died, another mudblood missing, and a blood traitor who was taken," the ministry worker named Lucius responded. Marik's fist clenched.

"Oh you know I agree with you Lucius, it's unfortunate Hagrid did not take a few more of the mudbloods with him. But still you know those who support Albus still think those types of filth deserve a place in our society. You know quite well that Kingsley sings praises to the aurors about the mudblood boy that is missing, and the Black family still has some sway and favor with the public. So for now we have to use tact with this," the minister added.

"I couldn't have said it better Minister. Come now. Let's get some shots by the message in the dungeon then get back to the ministry, this place reeks of filth," the ministry worker Lucius said with a creepy smile.

It took all the willpower and strength he had inside himself to keep from stunning everyone of the ministry workers right then and there.

 _Calm down Marik… Think of Alina. She is still missing. Stunning them now won't help you find her._ He told himself. He made his way back towards the Great Hall's doors as the workers and the minister made there way out of the Great Hall towards the dungeon.

So not only was the ministry doing the bare minimum to actually find the Chamber, find out if the killer really was Hagrid, and look for Alina, but the ministry and the minister were actually happy that this happened. He was beyond pissed. He had actually heard from the Minister of Magic's own mouth that he was glad the Hufflepuff boy was killed and Marik and Alina were missing because of their blood status.

The head of magical Britain couldn't care less about him, Alina, and the dead boy. He never really understood why Hermione had gotten so upset after the dueling tournament first year when Draco had called her a mudblood. After all who really took anything the dumb blonde said to heart.

But after hearing that ministry worker and the Minister of Magic himself actually say the words he now understood. He had read that many purebloods thought themselves better than the rest of the magical world, that's one of the reasons he assumed Daphne was so cold towards others.

This was different than that though. He would make it a point to not forget the words he heard today. The Minister would get what he deserved one day for what he said. For now though he had to let it go. He still had to find Alina. The longer he took the longer he risked…

He shook his head of all the thoughts. He needed full focus. The conversation he overheard while it did not help him in his search at all it did intensify the haste that he needed to take in his search. His only option at this point was to look for Hagrid. If he found the giant he could hopefully either find the culprit behind all of this if Hagrid was in fact guilty, or if Hagrid was innocent at least he he might have some more answers.

With that in mind he slipped passed the guards at the Great Hall's entrance and headed towards the front gate. Thankfully lady luck was on his side this time as an auror had the front gate open while he talked to someone outside. He sucked in his stomach as much as he could and squeezed through the gap between the aurors and made his way out onto the grounds of the castle.

The forbidden forest was huge to say the least. So finding Hagrid would be no easy task. He figured his best bet would be to head into the part of the forest near Hagrid's hut, although once he was in the forest where to go from there was up in the air.

Out on the grounds there was a ministry worker or an auror stationed at every ten feet or so around the edge of the forest. He assumed it was to catch Hagrid if he tried to come back into the castle. Thankfully he was still hidden under Harry's cloak so getting by the guards would not be an issue. Pulling the cloak tighter around him he made his way over to Hagrid's hut.

One thing that was clear was that Hagrid was not in his hut. The newly rebuilt hut had about fifteen guards all around it. It really was hard to believe thinking back to the few times he had spent with Hagrid, like the time he helped the half-giant rebuild his hut when he was looking for Thestral hair last year, that the half-giant was capable of something like this. However he also would have never thought someone like Quirrell would be capable of bringing a troll into the school so regardless of if Hagrid was innocent or not his mission was to find the half-giant and get answers.

At the edge of the forest, near Hagrid's hut, he found the auror named Tonks he had overheard talking in the dungeon earlier heading into the forest. Keeping his distance he followed the auror deeper into the forbidden forest. There were barely any aurors and ministry officials actually in the forest it seemed compared to the number there was inside of the castle.

After following the auror for a few minutes he decided it would be safest for him to split up from following the same path as her. Even with a silencing spell cast on his feet there was no telling if the auror might be aware of magic to catch him under the cloak.

He stopped moving for a quick minute to let her get further ahead and then turned at an angle to head in the other direction that the auror was headed. Even though the sun was still up, the deeper parts of the forest were just as dark now as when he had came with his friends in search of a unicorn. The canopy of brush overhead blocked out all of the light and made it almost impossible to see more than a few feet in front of him. Had it not been for a few gaps in the leaves overhead here and there the forest would have likely been pitch black.

Unlike the first time he had explored the forest, this time he did not have a trail of the half giant's footprints to follow or a compass. To keep himself from getting lost he did his best to walk in as straight of a path as he could away from the castle.

He walked for about thirty minutes, listening hard for noises other than the quiet snaps of twigs under his feet and the leaves rustling overhead. The forest during his journey so far remained silent and Hagrid remained hidden. Since he was not wanting to risk using a _lumos_ spell and being discovered, he was forced to rely heavily on listening out for the half giant instead of relying on his eyes, which to this point was not really working too well.

The sun overhead seemed to have set, since no light seemed to be breaking through the gaps in the leaves anymore. Thinking back to his first trip to the forest with Harry and Hermione they had not come this deep during their first trip to the forest he guessed. The trees had been less thick back then.

After a good ten more minutes of walking through the forest a cold chill shot down his spine making his body shiver. He instinctively stopped where he stood. He could feel something moving near him. The air seemed thicker here and the darkness seemed to press hard against his eyes. With his eyes being practically useless already he closed them and concentrated on the sounds around him.

It sounded like a hundred quiet whispers were talking all around him. Following each whisper he could hear gravel moving on the ground like it did when someone was walking. It sounded like a quiet stampede of footsteps. Someone… Or something was here.

He raised his wand and opened his eyes. Still under the cloak he was ready for whatever it was. He hoped it was Hagrid, but from the quiet soft sound of the footsteps he highly doubted it.

" _Aragog!"_ something called in a strange clicking voice. " _Aragog a man has walked into the nest!_ "

Marik turned to where the voice had originated from. How had it seen him? His thoughts were interrupted though. From above him eight bright searching eyes were slowly becoming bigger in the darkness. The eyes were so bright in the darkness that they almost illuminated the entire section of the forest he was in. As the eyes got larger he could see that they belonged to a giant spider the size of a small elephant.

 _Oh shit._ He thought to himself.

" _Is it Hagrid?_ " the giant spider above him said in a harsh voice, his eyes still wandering as it made its way to the ground.

" _It smells too small to be Hagrid._ " clicked the strange unseen voice again. Marik checked his surroundings. Although it was too dark to make out almost anything he was able to see that there was a lot more movement going on around him. Looking straight down at his feet he could see that entire floor of the forest seemed to be moving in response to the large spider.

 _Or are those…_ He squinted his eyes to get a better look and immediately regretted it. The floor of this part of the forest was in actuality thousands of tiny spiders moving frantically. If the large voice that had came from above named Aragog was a spider he guessed all the clicking around him was also more large spiders.

 _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…_ Was the only thought that came to mind at his situation.

" _Kill it. It's been too long since we had fresh meat walk into our home._ " the large spider Aragog clicked fretfully. All at once the sound in the quiet forest turned to chaos. The air, following the largest spider's command, filled with the sound of clicking and the movement of thousands of spider legs. He was going to be dinner if he just stood there. Even under the cloak eventually they would find him with. Damn him not thinking to put a anti-smell charm on.

" _Lumos maxima!"_ he screamed out the spell with as much magic as he could muster as he whipped off the cloak. The forest around him was illuminated with a blinding light and thousands of angry clicking spiders were screaming as they were blinded. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust but as soon as they did he started getting to work.

 _Operation-don't-let-the-large-fucking-spider-eat-me._ He thought to himself as he started moving. The first thing he noticed was that he had managed to waltz right into a terrifying looking spider's nest. There were webs all around him and each one housed more spiders than he had time to count. And they were all coming towards him.

" _Incendio!"_ He sent out a jet of fire towards the closest spiders hitting a few of them. Most of the spiders were able to scurry away and dodge it however. The flame seemed to have zero effect on the spider's webs as well. So much for plan A.

" _Umb…"_ He started the spell, but quickly found his mouth to be slammed shut and held close by a spider's web. A group of them had apparently got him from behind while he was distracted.

 _Fuck…_ The web around him was now making its way towards his feet and he was almost fully wrapped up. He closed his eyes eyes and focused his magic, remembering all of Kingsley lessons. _This is just like a bind._ He thought to himself. He concentrated forcing all of his magic out into his skin and breaking through web just like you did when you wanted to break a bind spell. Slowly small pops could be heard as sections of the web began to snap.

 _It's working!_ He mentally celebrated for a moment and gave himself a mental high five before he put his focus back into breaking the web. After a few more seconds there was a loud rip and his body was fully freed from the webbing. He found his footing quickly and stood up wand raised.

" _Umbrosio!"_ He put all of his magic into the spell; he had to if he wanted to survive this. And thankfully he could not have hoped for better results.

Focusing on his shadow magic all around him thousands of shadowy spider legs were emerging from the floor and grabbing a hold to the many scampering spiders that were casting shadows around him. The spider's found themselves by the hundreds being pulled down tightly against the earth as their own shadow legs held them down and tightened their grasped. The sounds of clicking died down and the forest grew much quieter as each of the large spiders found it impossible to move under the grip of their own shadows.

"Stop struggling!" he attempted to say in his most confident and intimidating voice. "I did not come here to be eaten, and I did not come here to hurt you. I am looking for Hagrid. . . You." He pointed his wand at the largest spider named Aragog in the nest that had come down from the ceiling. "You asked if I was Hagrid earlier. How do you know him?" he asked the spider.

The spider made no attempt to speak. He focused his magic more and summoned more shadow spider legs from around the large spider and tightened their grip more.

" _Hagrid is my good friend_ ," the spider announced sounding like it was in a little pain. He had never thought of a spider having a friend.

"I am also a friend of Hagrids. He fled the castle earlier today into these woods. He is being accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets. . . again," Marik started to say, before he was interrupted.

" _Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets!" The large spider interrupted him. "That was years ago. I remember it well. That was why the Minister of Magic made him leave the school and snapped his wand. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. Hogwarts was me and my families home! They thought Hagrid opened the Chamber and set me free,_ " the spider named Aragog clicked angrily.

"The monster that dwells in the Chamber you said?" He paused thinking for a second. "What monster dwells in the Chamber?" he asked curiously.

" _We do not speak of it! We do not name it! The thing that lives in the castle, is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others,_ " said Aragog coldly.

"Well I don't fear it," he said trying not to break eye contact with the large spider. It was hard since he had to slowly move from eye to eye. "A girl was taken into the Chamber. I have to save her. Tell me what the creature is!" he shouted at the large beast and tightened his shadows more.

" _I told you we do not speak of it!_ " the spider argued back.

"Then can you at least tell me where the Chamber is?"

" _You will die if you go there_ ," said Aragog.

"Well if that's what it takes then that's what it takes. But I doubt I will die. Now tell me."

" _I do not know the entrance but I do know that the creature moves through the pipes of the castle. There is a pipe that drains out into the lake on the eastern edge of the castle. That pipe most likely connects with the pipes the creature uses. That is all I know,_ " the spider clicked. It wasn't an exact answer but it was more information than he had coming into the forest. For now it was his best shot at saving Alina.

"Thank you Aragog. I'm sorry that I had to restrain you and your family. I just wasn't to keen on being dinner today," he apologized to the spider. Mainly so that he could sleep at night knowing that a thousand angry spiders weren't hunting him down for revenge.

"I will be leaving now. If you see _our_ friend Hagrid tell him I said hello," he said to Aragog, gave a slight bow, and turned to head out of the nest when an idea came to mind. "Actually…" He thought it through a little more. "Aragog I have a proposition for you." He turned back to face the spider.

" _You come into my home, and you imprison me and my children in this dark magic, and now you want to make a proposition?_ " the large spider's voice raised as he clicked the words loudly. Well he guessed the spider kind of did have a point with that.

"Ya ya just hear me out. You said earlier that Hogwarts was your home right?" he asked the large spider but didn't wait for an answer before he continued. "I know that feeling. Hogwarts has honestly become my home in my short stay there…" He paused briefly. "What if I help you make it where Hogwarts can once again be your home, and to make the deal sweeter throw in some fresh meat for your family since you missed out on eating me?". His idea's plan hinged on its answer.

" _What you say I believe to be impossible,_ " the spider said sounding suspicious and still angry at him.

"Maybe it is but how about you just hear me out. Can't hurt you to just listen right?" he asked.

" _Fine. I'm listening,"_ the spider said, his voice still angry.

"As I said earlier I am going to the Chamber of Secrets. And I am going to kill whatever the monster you won't tell me about inside is. I have to. There is no choice in the matter for me. However, I would like you and your family's help," he started explaining.

" _Preposterous! There is…_ " the large spider loudly interrupted him.

" _Silencio!"_ He shouted the spell at the spider as he sliced his wand through the air. "Enough! I was not finished!" he shouted impatiently.

"As I was saying, I would like your family's help getting back to the castle. I imagine you know the way back there better than I do and could help me get there much quicker than I could do alone. In return for you and your families help I would like to give you something in return." He paused again briefly before continuing.

"While I was looking for clues to help me find the Chamber I overheard the Minister of Magic saying something that… well that I did not like very much. If we get back to the castle quick enough the minister may still be there. Correct me if I am wrong but I'm assuming he is the same minister that had you removed from the castle and got Hagrid expelled.

I imagine you dislike him as much as I do now. In exchange for you helping me you may get a shot at paying back the bastard. If he isn't there I make a promise to you and your family that I will try and clear yours and Hagrid's names, as well as find a way to pay him back for you." He could hear the spiders clicking all around him in response to his words.

"Plus I am going to kill this monster. I would greatly appreciate it if your family helped me defeat it. When the beast is dead whether you help me defeat it or not I offer you and your family the monster's body to do what you want with, as well as the Chamber of Secrets if you wish to make your home there and return to Hogwarts.

"If you help me you get the chance at revenge, food, the monster you fear slain, Hagrid's name cleared of charges, and most importantly your home back. If you don't help… You get to keep this… nest.

"A girl is missing… and maybe worse. I ask you to please consider becoming my ally or at least just take me back to the castle." He finished proposing his offer.

The idea seemed like a no brainer to him. He felt like his inner Hermione quick thinking had really done well. He truly meant it all too. The spiders could get him back to the castle much quicker than he could walking and wandering through the forest at night. And whatever the monster in the Chamber was he imagined it would be a lot easier to kill if he had a thousand spiders by his side. Plus the minister was a bastard. If the minister was okay letting a monster kill Alina, him, and other people because of their blood status he was okay letting a spider who helped him out get a good meal. And truthfully the spider had helped him out more than anything already, he already owed the spider for all of the information it had given.

" _I still believe what you say is impossible…_ " the large spider started. " _I do not think you can give us what you offer_ …" the spider continued. It looked like he would not get his plan after all. " _However… We will help you get to the castle. We will not help you kill the monster. If you hold true on what you proposed and kill the monster, clear Hagrid's name, and we are able to move into the Chamber you will have an ally in us strange wizard. But if we discover you lied to us. . . I will have all of my children, my cousins, brothers, sisters, and all of their children find you and…_ "

"Yeah, I get the point Liam Neeson you will find me and kill me. So do we have a deal?" He interrupted the large spider with his question.

" _For now strange wizard we have a deal. Now release us from this dark magic,_ " the large spider ordered. Following the order he slowly released his shadow magic from the spiders. He started with a few of the smaller spiders to make sure they did not immediately pounce on him and kept his wand raised as the last few larger spiders were released. " _Torag my son come here_!" the spider clicked loudly behind him. Another large spider that was almost as big as his father emerged from the webs behind his father.

" _Strange wizard you will ride on Torag's back to the castle. The rest of us will march together. We will take you to the pipe I spoke of, then me and my family will look for this minister. I still remember his smell. Whether the Chamber can be reached from the pipes or not you are on your own from there. Understood?_ " the large spider asked him.

"Understood. Thank you again. I also ask that you not harm any of the aurors or ministry workers stationed at the castle outside of the minister. They are innocent in all of this. The ones in the minister's group are all fair game though," he told the spider. He might be cruel but he wasn't that cruel.

" _Revenge on the minister is all we want,_ " the large spider clicked. " _Now let us march!_ " The large spider named Torag, the son of Aragog, quickly scurried over to where he was standing and before he could say quidditch had thrown him onto his back with his long pincers.

In a blink of an eye the trees of the forest started flying by him in a blur. The once quiet forest was filled with the sound of a thousand marching feet, as all around him spiders of all sizes were running rampant. Even if they had said they would help him he had never been so close to pissing his pants in his entire life than he was currently as he watched the sight before him now. There was no way the Chamber's monster was scarier than this.

Never in his life when he first arrived at Hogwarts would he ever imagined that one day in this new world of magic that he would be riding on the back of a giant spider. Unfortunately riding on a spider was not as smooth as riding on a horse or riding in a car. For one there was nothing to hold onto, and the whole exoskeleton thing was kind of bumpy, hard, and uncomfy.

Within a few minutes he already could see the edge of the forest. Like dots between the trees he could see the colored coats of the aurors and ministry officials already running away. He pulled the hood of robes over his head to make sure no one was able to see his face. After a few more seconds their massive party of spiders broke through the forest and onto the grounds.

Louds screams of horror filled the air as all the ministry and auror officials on the grounds started running towards the castle's front gate and away from the spiders. Flashes of light could be seen appearing in every direction as certain wizards had decided to fire of spells at the spiders. That quickly proved to be the wrong decision he noted as they made their way across the grounds. Each of the wizards who had decided to cast spells at the spiders found themselves shortly after bound in a sticky web shell.

As their group passed the front gate a large number split off from him and Torag and headed into the castle to search for the minister. If he had not hated the man so much right now he might have felt bad for the guy at what he had coming. Torag and his group led him further across the ground and past the spot where he and Alina had spent the previous night together. A sting of pain went through him at the thought of her.

At the edge of the lake they reached a large cliffside. Sure enough just like Aragog had said there was a large drainage pipe a few feet down the cliffside. Torag and the group stopped moving which he guessed signaled that this was as far as they were willing to take him. He jumped off the spiders back onto the ground.

"Thank you Torag for bringing me here. Thank your father again for me. If there is anything else I can help your family with in the future please let me know. I can't thank you enough," he said to the large spider and gave a slight bow to further show his thanks. Torag just clicked his pincers in return and led the large group of spiders away from him back towards the castle.

Without wasting anymore time he ran towards the large drainage pipe. The cliffside was steep but he was able to slowly make his way up it and into the pipe.

" _Expulso_." He pointed his wand at the metal bars blocking off the entrance and took cover outside the wall of the pipe.

With a loud explosion the metal bars went flying down the cliffside in bits and pieces. He swung himself into the pipe and began walking inside. Thankfully this seemed to be a drainage pipe and nothing to do with sewage. The pipe was huge, and he continued to walk straight through it for at least five minutes before he finally ended up in a room that had three pipes a little bit smaller on each side of the room.

 _Shit_. Was the first thought that popped into his mind. He had no clue which one to pick. For a few moments he just stood there thinking but no good ideas came to mind. After a few moments though he thought he heard something. He closed his eyes and listened to see if it was coming from a specific pipe. Sure enough a small sound seemed to be coming from one of the pipes on the right wall. He moved closer to the pipe to try and hear better. The sound was muffled and hard to make out. He focused more.

His hands tightened on his wand as his heart skipped a beat as the sound got louder for a brief second. It was a scream. It was a muffled girls scream. It was Alina.

* * *

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	20. Book2: Chapter 9

**Harry**

The lights in the hallway finally extinguished themselves signalling that his mother had at last gone to bed. He had been staring at the light creeping into his room from under the door for a few hours now and was relieved to finally see it disappear. He closed his book on _occlumency_ and _legilimency_ and set aside all of his notes as he got up from his bed and quietly tip-toed over to the window that he had already cracked opened slightly earlier that day.

The time between now and when he arrived at home had been the longest hours of his life. It took all of his willpower to remain in his room and not try and risk leaving early. His parents had not helped his anxiety very much either. His mother and father had very clearly been worried and upset when they picked him up at King's Cross Station. As soon as they got home neither one of them had let him out of their sight for the first few hours as if something might come attack him at any second in their living room.

A few hour into his time back home his father, shortly after hearing the news that Alina was one of the students missing, went to Sirius's house to be with his friend. He hoped that his father being there did not hinder Daphne from being able to sneak out. His mother had tried to avoid discussing anything about the situation with him but during the few times she spoke to him he learned that Professor Kingsley had gone to see Marik's parents to tell them the news that Marik was missing too. That had been the moment he had lost it a little.

Throughout the whole train ride home and the time he was stuck like a prisoner in his living room with his mother the thought of Marik actually being gone had never really crossed his mind. To be honest nothing had really crossed his mind or sunk in at that point. However after picturing how sad and upset Marik's parents must be right now brought him to reality, and it brought the pain with it. For the first time in a long time he actually cried. It was only normal right? His best friend and his cousin were both missing… and maybe even dead…

After a few minutes of crying he had done his best to dry his eyes and wipe away the tears. In the end the more he thought about Marik the more he felt better. Marik would be giving him hell right now if he found out that Harry had cried. So with that in mind he told himself no more tears and stay positive, that's what Marik would be doing right now. So even though the rest of the night after that had still dragged on at a snail's pace, he at least felt better than he had earlier.

Still trying to be as quiet as possible he picked up his wand from the window sill and slowly lifted the window up. Thankfully his room was on the first floor and climbing out would not be his biggest challenge of the night. Lifting one leg up over and outside he quietly climbed into the night.

Even in a large well-lit neighborhood like Godric's Hollow it was still almost pitch black outside. He could only see a few feet in front of him even with all of the light from the street lamps. Looking back into his room before he set off he checked to make sure the pillows he had stuffed under his covers at least somewhat looked like they could be him under the covers.

 _Close enough._ He thought to himself. If his mother actually walked in his room there was about a two percent chance she would not be able to tell it was not him but oh well. If getting in trouble meant he got to help save Marik and Alina it was worth it. Quietly again he slowly closed the window behind him before turning and heading down the sidewalk.

He, Hermione, and Daphne had planned tonight for the most part down to the dot. The ministry employee entrance was just three miles from his house and about the same for everyone else. Hermione would have the longest journey of the night at four miles to their agreed meeting spot since her house was a little bit further outside of the city. The guest entrance to the ministry was a little bit further of a walk compared to the guest entrance but neither he or Daphne new if the guest entrance allowed entry at this time a night like the employee entrance did.

Unfortunately once they got inside the ministry they had no plan but to wing it. He had been able to easily snag one of his mother's hairs for Daphne's _polyjuice potion_. Luckily living with a woman meant odds were good you could find a shed hair in any room of the house. The plan was for Daphne to do the same with her mother as well.

Hermione would get his mother's hair and when they arrived at the ministry entrance they would wait for another employee to well… That part of the plan wasn't to well worked out either. He still wasn't sure if they could even stun a ministry worker, let alone if it was worth the risk. In the end he just stopped worrying about it and added it to the everything-will-be-okay-just-wing-it section of the plan. The walk to the ministry was one he had made a few times before with his mother throughout the years growing up.

Even though his mother could easily floo, apparate, or portkey to the ministry she would often walk to work. She used to tell him when he would complain about having to walk the distance that the muggle side of her missed some of the simple things that got missed in all of the magic. He still never really understood what she meant but he chalked that down to not growing up with a muggle family.

After making his way out of his neighborhood the world around him became much brighter. The streetlights in the city along with the countless number of still lit windows of people at work lined the streets. He pulled the hood over his head further down. Even this late at night he was not the only one out in the city. In fact there were still a large number of people walking around like him and he passed a good number of pubs that were still full along his journey.

Still, even with there being a good number of people out on the street he did not want to risk being caught or recognized. If he wanted this plan to work he needed to remain unknown. The rest of the walk went by fairly quickly. Thankfully there weren't many turns along the way and he did not get lost. He did his best attempt at a power walk the entire trip and as he neared their meeting spot his legs were starting to hurt.

 _Man I need to work out._ He thought to himself as he rounded the last corner.

"Harry. Over here," a voice whispered at him from a bench a few feet down the sidewalk from where he had just arrived. Even under a cloak and hood it was easy to make out from the blue eyes that it was Daphne.

"Hey Daphne. I'm glad to see you made it safe," he responded as he grabbed a seat next to her. Noticeably even though they were working together right now she still moved further away from him when he sat down.

"Where is Granger? She is taking too long," Daphne said in her usual cold voice.

"You know she had to talk further than us Daphne. Just calm down," he answered her.

"Calm down? Really Harry?" Daphne scolded him.

"Sorry," he apologized to her. "So were you able to get one of your mother's hairs?"

"Of course I was," she answered shortly.

"Do we need to add them to the _polyjuice potion_ now? Or do we have to wait?" he asked her curiously. In just a few seconds things had already become awkward so he was doing his best to get a conversation going.

"We will wait until Granger gets here," Daphne answered quickly and again straight to the point.

"Have you ever tested it before?" he asked her another question in another attempt to start a conversation.

"Yes, a few times. Be prepared, it tastes like hell."

"Did you use it for anything cool?" he asked curiously.

"No," was all she said in return however from her facial reaction it seemed like she was lying.

"Oh come on you can tell me," he said, trying to poke her to tell him.

"Fine. I used it a few times to look like a fourth year girl that was getting private lessons with Flitwick earlier in the year," Daphne answered him.

"Why would you want to look like a fifth year?" he asked now curious.

"So I could get private lessons idiot." Her voice again returning to the cold ice queen voice.

"You have gotten private fourth year lessons from Flitwick. Wow thats impressive. How were you able to get away with it without him noticing?" he asked still curious and now impressed. From all Marik's stories he knew that Marik barely survived his second year lessons with Flitwick.

"I almost did get noticed, that's why I stopped. I didn't plan on doing it for long I just wanted help on some higher level magic."

"You weren't kidding when you said you weren't going to let me beat you again this year," he said trying to put on a smile when he did. For some reason it was good to see that Daphne was pushing herself harder this year. That made his extra effort this year feel even more needed and rewarding.

"Not that it matters anymore now," Daphne said, lowering her head as she did.

"Yes it does. Hogwarts isn't closed for good," he told her trying to sound confident.

"How can you say that? You don't know that," she asked him, making eye contact for the first time with him that night. He took note of her eyes as she did. She had tired bags under her eyes and her bright blue eyes were outlined by redness all around. She must have been crying. . . Even though he had briefly seen her cry on the express it was still hard to imagine someone like her actually crying. It seemed to make the situation even more sad.

"Because I do," he started to answer. "Because I know Marik. Even if he was taken or kidnapped there is no way in hell he is going down easy. Even if you hate him you have to admit if there is one person in our year that would best put up a fight right now it would be him. And I know that Alina isn't a pushover either.

"She was in the library over the summer just as much as we were, reading and studying the entire time. If she is half as good as you are there is no way she is not putting up a good fight too. We will get there soon, make all right at the school, and before you know it we will be back to how things used to be." Truthfully he really did believe what he told her.

"Thank you. I hope you are right," Daphne said, lifting her head back up as she did.

"Harry, Daphne is that you?" a voice he recognized as Hermione's whispered from down the sidewalk.

"Yeah Hermione come on," he answered back. A sigh of relief swept over him that she had made it there safe.

"Took you long enough Granger," Daphne said coldly as she stood up and started going through her bag.

"Good to see you too Daphne," Hermione sarcastically responded. Much like Daphne Hermione's eyes also looked red and tired from crying. He didn't like seeing her like that. "So I was thinking we should change the plan," Hermione announced as Daphne took a three vials with dark brown liquid out of her bag.

"Change what?" he asked her.

"I don't think we should use the _polyjuice potion_ ," Hermione answered his question.

"What? That was the entire base of our plan Granger," Daphne spat out.

"Hear me out. We don't know where to go once we get in the Ministry right? So that means we may have to wander around for a while. If I look like Harry's mother and you look like your mother someone might recognize us and ask us to go somewhere or do something. Plus if we have to use magic we might get your parents in serious trouble. And Harry doesn't have someone's hair yet. We could waste precious time waiting for someone to show up and by then it may be too late," Hermione explained her reasoning. She had a point.

"So what do you suggest," he asked her. If she thought Hermione had a point Daphne made no attempt to change her distasteful look.

"I found a few glamour charms in one of my books. Most of them look pretty easy but some of the better ones I don't think we could do without a lot of practice. I can change enough of our appearances to make us unrecognizable as long as someone doesn't stare at you for too long. This way at least we all can go in at the same time without waiting, and not risk getting your parents in trouble," Hermione finished explaining her new plan. It seemed like a good enough idea. After all if things went well hopefully they would be in and out of the ministry within a few minutes before anyone had the chance to recognize them.

"I don't know. I do agree with you about it being quicker than waiting for Harry to get a hair but let me see how it looks first before we decide," Daphne responded to Hermione. Never in his life did he imagine he would hear Daphne agreeing with Hermione on something.

"Okay, sure. Harry come here," Hermione ordered him. He made his way over to where Hermione was and she took out a book and began flipping through pages. Of course she brought the book with her, he laughed to himself. After she found the page she had been looking for Hermione took out her wand and slowly began casting spells at his face. The inner duelist in him had to restrain himself having a wand inches from his face.

Following each spell it felt like someone was bending and stretching out his face. She started with his hair and his face and by the time she finished it felt like he had weights over each one of his eyes. From there she moved on to finishing the rest of his face.

"Okay, there. That's about as good as I can do. What do you think Daphne?" Hermione asked.

"Hmmm," was all Daphne said.

"Let me see," he said to Hermione who took out a mirror from her bag. It was quite the shock to look into a mirror and see someone different staring back at you. His eyebrows had doubled in thickness, his eyes were a different color, and he had the thickest jaw and cheeks that he may have ever seen. He certainly did not look like himself.

"This is perfect Hermione," he announced as he continued to examine himself in the mirror.

"I guess it will work," Daphne admitted sounding defeated. She looked physically ill as she agreed with Hermione.

"Okay Daphne, you come here next and I will start on yours," Hermione ordered Daphne. Slowly Daphne made her way closer to Hermione. He noted that throughout Hermione working on Daphne's face that Daphne's grip on her wand seemed to tighten.

"Even with these we will have to move quick and try to keep hidden. No one like this works at the ministry so we can't draw attention to ourselves," he said to two girls.

After a few minutes of wand work Hermione had Daphne looking much different than the ice-queen normally did. Daphne seemed upset that Hermione had turned her normal scowl into a mouth that seemed to always be smiling. He couldn't help but smile and think Hermione must have done that on purpose.

After she finished with Daphne, Hermione took back her mirror and started working on her own appearance. When she was finished the three of them all looked like completely different, and strange looking people. It was time for the wing-it part of the plan now.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked the two girls in front of him. They both nodded in return.

"Let's go ahead and cast silencing spells on ourselves. Better to be safe than sorry," Hermione added, and they all followed her lead.

"Alright let's get going. Remember the employee entrance will take us near the main lobby. Keep an eye out for any signs or anything that might help," he reminded them.

"We know Harry. Let's go!" Daphne ordered. The three of them left the part of the street they had been on and walked a few blocks further towards the entrance. Unlike the rest of the city this part of the city was much less lit and much less populated than the parts he had walked through. The walk to the entrance was a quick one compared to all of their earlier treks and in just a few minutes they arrived at the destination.

"The entrance is a bathroom?" Hermione asked sounding disgusted.

"No Granger, don't be stupid," Daphne spat out again, her voice this time not matching her face. Daphne and he led Hermione over to the alley next to the small building. A few feet inside the alley was a red door. Taking the lead he opened the red door and led them all into the small room.

"Now what?" Hermione asked.

"Just wait a second," he answered. Just like it did during the times he had visited with his mother after a few moments the room started to lower itself like an elevator. The face that used to be Hermione's made quite the funny expression that normally, if it had been a different situation, he might have laughed at. After a few moments the room came to a stop and the red door opened signalling that they had arrived.

"Here we go," he said quietly. He opened the door and led them out into the Ministry of Magic.

The three of them left the small elevator room and made their way down the entrance tunnel into the made atrium of the ministry. Just as they had hoped for the place did not seem to be crowded and only a few people could be seen walking around. From what he and Daphne knew the Daily Prophet had workers at the ministry around the clock seven days a week and for other workers, like their mothers, it was common to work there late nights.

Once they all made their way into the atrium they paused for a few moments to take in everything around them and search for clues. In the middle of the atrium was the large fountain that had the large ministry flag hanging over head. Most of the normally lit windows that lined the atrium's walls were turned off besides a few ones here and there.

"Guys there is directory over there," Daphne whispered to them and pointed at a wall on the other side of the atrium. Luckily for them the few people that they could see in the atrium with them were on the other side, so for now they were safe enough to make their way over to it. They headed over to the directory that Daphne pointed out doing their best to look like they belonged there. Once at the directory he started scanning through the lists to find anything that could help.

"Do you see anything that mentions floo?" he asked them.

"No," Daphne answered bluntly.

"I don't either. What do we do now?" Hermione asked, her voice sounding a little nervous.

"I don't know," he answered.

"The minister's office," Daphne said after a few moments, sounding like she was thinking hard.

"What about it?" he asked her, confused where she was going with this.

"I read the Daily Prophet everyday. In a copy of it last week there was an article about the minister in there, something about a new research grant or something I forget. Anyways there was a picture in the article of the minister in his office. I remember their being a fireplace in the picture," Daphne explained.

"It would make sense for the Minister of Magic to have a floo network in his office but won't his office be one of the harder ones to get into?" Hermione asked Daphne.

"Probably. But it's better than just wandering around and opening random doors. Plus I guarantee his office's Floo has access to Hogwarts,"Daphne answered.

"Let's find the minister's office then. We don't have time for a better plan anyways," Harry said and started looking over the directory again.

"There!" Hermione announced probably a little too loudly. Looking to where she was pointing he could see that next to her finger there was a room number for the Office of the Minister of Magic.

"Alright let's go. Keep your eyes open," Daphne ordered as she led the way to a nearby staircase. If the directory was to be believed the Minister's office was on the eleventh floor. That meant they had quite a few stairs to climb since they did not want to risk getting stuck in the elevator with someone else. Slowly the three of them made their way up staircase after staircase until they saw the sign for the eleventh floor. For the second time that night he told himself he needed to start working out as he tried to catch his breath from all the stairs.

The door from the stairwell opened into another long hallway with doors to offices on each side. Luckily it seemed that each door had a label of what it housed on it so they would not have to check each one individually. They started slowly and quietly walking down the hall until they came to a spot where the hall split into three different directions.

"Wait here," he ordered Hermione and Daphne. As quietly as he could he walked up to the corner of the last wall before the hallway split. Peeking his head out he looked down the hallway to the left first to see if there was anyone there. The hallway was clear. After checking that one he moved to the wall on the right to check the next hallway.

At the end of the hallway was a large door at the center of the wall. Outside of the large door was a desk that two people in ministry robes were sitting at. From the way they were sitting and the fact they were not doing work but just had wands in their hands he could assumed they were guards. That had to be the minister's office.

After checking one last time he turned and waved back to where Daphne and Hermione were waiting for them to come to him.

"There are two guards sitting outside the door with wands in hand. We need a plan."

"You and Granger take one and I will take the other," Daphne quickly said to his surprise.

"You think you can take a ministry guard on your own?" Hermione asked. Even with a different face on the look Daphne gave Hermione made it clear she was trying to do her best ice-queen glare.

"They are ministry guards Granger not aurors. Anyone with a wand can be a ministry guard so, yes I do. When you and Potter finish yours you can help me with mine if I still need it," Daphne spat.

"Okay well… Unless you have a better idea Hermione?" he said, looking at his best friend to see if she did. After a few seconds she shook her head. "Okay then it's our plan. Let's try to keep this as quiet and contained as possible. If we go blowing offices up we are sure to get caught." Both the girls nodded in agreement.

"Wait a sec I want to hear what they are saying," Hermione said as she put her ear closer to the corner. Sure enough he had not noticed that the two guards were talking. He followed Hermione's lead and put his ear closer to the corner.

"So do you think the old bastard will actually show up tomorrow?" one of the guards asked the other.

"Why wouldn't he? What's so special about tomorrow?" the other guard asked.

"You didn't hear yet?" the first guard asked.

"Hear what?"

"The old bastard got a chunk bit out of him at the school today and went straight to St. Mungos along with Malfoy and some other of his close advisors. He's okay far as I know but got won't be sitting down for a while until his arse grows back haha!

From what I heard some bloke came riding in from the forbidden forest on the back of a huge spider with a thousand spiders beside him. The guy on shift here before you said that his friend who was at the castle swore it looked like a dementor riding on the spider." The first guard told the story.

"Why would a dementor ride on the back of a spider when it can fly? And why did the spiders attack the school?" the second guard asked.

"I dunno it's just what I heard. From what the bloke said they just came out of nowhere and started swarming the school. They didn't hurt anyone outside the minister and his advisors, scared the shit out of them all though. I can't imagine seeing that. I would have bloody shit my pants if I saw a thousand spiders charging at me. Thank bloody baron I drew the night shift tonight." the first guard continued.

"Did the catch whoever was on the spider?" the second guard was asking another question.

"Nah whatever it was it got away. Plus everyone there aurors and ministry workers alike apparated out of there as quick as they could. The bloke told me he heard the aurors were putting together a team to raid the castle though soon and clear out the spiders." the first guard answered.

He turned from where he had been looking to make eye contact with Daphne and Hermione.

"Hermione do you think?" he started to ask her looking hopeful. From the water in her eyes he judged she had the same thought.

"Marik!" was all Hermione as able to get out, a few tears streamed down her face.

"How do you know it was Marik? The guard said they didn't catch him," Daphne was asking beside him.

"He said the person on the spider looked like a Dementor. Marik in his cloak would look like a dementor. It makes sense," he explained to Daphne.

"Why would he be riding on a giant spider… And why would he attack aurors and ministry officials?" Daphne asked him.

"I don't know. Maybe it was the only way. From the sounds of it though it sounds like he was trying to get back in the castle though. My bet is he found out someone was missing and was trying to be the hero looking for them. Knowing Marik he would do something dramatic like that. Plus attacking ministry employees isn't so different from what we are doing right now," he answered Daphne and couldn't help the smile that came to his face. The guard's story sounded just like the extreme dramatic event that Marik would be at the center of.

"Regardless of if it was him or not we need to keep moving. Are you guys ready?" Daphne asked the two of them. They both nodded again.

"Let's go!" he announced as the three of them turned the corner.

" _Stupefy!"_ The three of them cast the spell in unison as they rounded the corner. As soon as they started one of the guards was on his feet ready with a shield. The other one apparently was not paying as much attention and Hermione's two spells collided with him and sent him flying off his chair into the wall behind him, unconscious.

 _I guess Daphne was right when she said anyone can be a ministry guard_. He thought to himself after seeing the success of their wing-it-plan on the first guard. His thought went away quick though as the second guard was firing a spell back at them quick.

" _Expelliarmus, incarcerous!"_ The ministry guard fired the two spells off. The guards expelliarmus spell was large enough in the hallway that if it hit them it would surely disarm all three of them. On the other hand the ropes the guard conjured seemed to only be going after Daphne who was now charging the guard.

" _Protego!"_ He cast the shield spell over Daphne as she ran. It would protect her from the expelliarmus at least. Hopefully she had a plan for the ropes. Next to him Hermione didn't stop casting spells as she took Daphne's lead and started charging.

" _Mobiliarbus!"_ He heard Daphne cast the spell right as the guards _expelliarmus_ spell collided with the shield he had cast on her. Her spell resulted in the ropes changing their path from towards her back towards the guard who had cast them.

" _Protego!"_ The guard threw up another shield and blocked the oncoming ropes.

" _Stupefy, immobulus!"_ The still charging Hermione sent out a spell chain. Next to her Daphne had her wand moving with more spells.

" _Confundus, petrificus totalus!"_ Daphne sent two more spells flying at the guard along with Hermione's two spells.

He had to give some credit to the poor guard. So far he had put up a good fight and he even managed to throw up two quick shields to block both of Hermione's spells. However he did not fair as lucky against Daphne's spells. First he was hit with the _confundus_ spell which immediately resulted in the guard's face changing to a confused look. The look quickly changed though as the guard was hit with Daphne's body locking spell. The guard fell to the floor with a thud as his legs gave out. The three of them walked over to where the guard lay.

" _Stupefy!"_ Hermione standing next to the still conscious guard pinned to the ground cast the stunner at point blank range knocking him out. He felt bad for the poor guy. He knew first hand how strong a Hermione stunner was, he could imagine how bad a point blank one would feel when the guard woke up.

Daphne opened the door leading into the minister's office. Sure enough on the right side of the office was a large fire place.

"Thank god." he heard Hermione say in a sigh of relief next to him.

"Everyone look around quick for some floo powder, it was stupid of us to forget to bring some," Daphne announced to them. She was right. If they couldn't find any in the minister's office then there entire plan was for naught. He cursed himself for not thinking of something so simple.

The three of them started searching through every cabinet and drawer that they could find in the room.

"Found it!" He shouted as he opened up a drawer to find a large supply of floo powder.

"Okay, let's go. Hurry!" Daphne said as she made her way towards the fireplace.

"Wait guys. Harry come here. Look at this." Even with a different face on he knew Hermione's voice well enough to know that she had found something that bothered her.

"What is it Hermione?" He asked as he made his way over to her.

"Here look at this." She handed him a document that had been in one of the Minister's drawers.

 _Department of Mysteries_

 _Project: Lex Sanguinis_

 _By order of the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge_

 _Confidential to all Ministry personnel without level A clearance_

 _The Department of Mysteries will employ six candidates that the minister has chosen for this project to conduct further research on finalizing the Lex Sanguinis Ritual. After being provided the necessary collection of runes needed for the Ritual by means of donation from,_ _Insert Name_ _, Phase 2 tests can soon begin. Phase 2 tests will begin using the demomagus potion on muggleborn witches and wizards. After success has been confirmed the project will then move to small controlled tests of the Lex Sanguinis Ritual on muggleborn witches and wizards before moving forward to large scale use. The following names are the only Ministry personal given clearance to be provided information on this project._

 _Insert Name_ _Insert Name_ _Insert Name_

 _Insert Name_ _Insert Name_ _Insert Name_

 _x_ _Cornelius Fudge_ _,_

 _Minister Of Magic_

"What is the Lex Sanguinis ritual, and the _demomagus potion_?" he asked confused. He was not sure what most of the document meant.

"I can't say for sure what either is but I took a little bit of Latin in grade school before Hogwarts and that's what made this catch my eye. Lex means law and Sanguinis means blood, so together this means blood law," Hermione explained. She still sounded bothered.

"Great Hermione we are happy you know Latin now can we get going," Daphne started saying.

"Hold on one sec Daphne. What does it mean Hermione. I don't understand," he asked her.

"I don't know but it says they are going to test it only on muggleborns. The fact that they are testing something on muggleborns alone stands out as something odd. Plus the choice of words…" Hermione sounded like she was thinking.

"Make a copy of it and we can look over it later then Hermione. Daphne is right we need to get going," he told Hermione. She quickly pulled out a piece of parchment from her bag and used a copy spell to place the writings on the document to her sheet. Then they all went and grabbed a handful of the floo powder and prepared themselves.

"Okay, I will go first. Follow me as soon as I go," he told the others as he stepped into the fireplace.

"Hogwarts!" he shouted and felt his body immediately start to twist and turn.

* * *

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	21. Book2: Chapter 10

**Marik**

The tunnels seemed to turn more and go on endlessly the further he ran through them. Alina's screams had already gone quiet minutes ago and he feared the worst. Every nerve in his body was tingling unpleasantly at the thoughts that already had begun to creep into his mind and no matter how hard he tried to shake them away he found that he couldn't. He wanted the tunnel to end desperately, yet dreaded what he'd find when it did.

With each turn in the tunnels what little light there was seemed to grow dimmer and before long he was forced to pull out his wand to light the way. The tunnel was so dark that he could only see a little distance ahead even with his _lumos_ spell. His shadow on the wet walls looked monstrous in the wandlight. Each one of his footsteps even sounded monstrous as they slapped the wet floor beneath him loudly and echoed through the tunnel. Three more lefts followed by another right and what felt like hours of walking aimlessly.

 _Maybe the Chamber isn't here._ The negative thought came to mind as he turned yet another corner. He was having a lot of thoughts like that one at the moment. It wasn't until after another few minutes of walking when he finally stumbled into a tunnel that at least looked different than the others he had been in so far.

This tunnel was smaller than the others he had walked through, and much darker. The tunnel was quiet as a grave that was until the unexpected sound he heard as he accidently stepped on what turned out to be a rat's skull. After panicking and embarrassingly casting three stunners and a blast spell at the broken skull he continued moving through the tunnel.

His eyes glanced to the floor more often after that and he saw that the it was littered with small animal bones. _The monster has been eating these. I'm close._ Trying very hard not to imagine what Alina might look like when he found her Marik continued forward.

At last it seemed he had reached the end of the tunnels as he crept around another bend, he saw a solid wall ahead, which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

 _Was this the entrance to the Chamber?_ He wondered to himself. He approached the solid wall, his throat very dry. _How did he get through?_

" _Expulso!"_ He cast the explosion spell on the wall. His spell collided and disappeared instantly without leaving even a scrape on the wall.

" _Alohomora!"_ He tried the open lock spell but still no result.

"So much for that idea. . ." he whispered. He had to find a way through, and quick. Trying in desperation he sent every spell he could think of at the wall. Each spell produced the same result as the first one had though and no matter how much power he put behind them nothing happened.

"Come on! Fucking open you damn door!" he screamed at the wall, pounding it with his fist in anger. All of the sudden the serpents on the wall parted and the wall cracked open.

"All I had to do was say open? What a stupid door…" he said to no one as he quickly walked through the crack inside.

He was standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit Chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost deep into the darkness above him, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

His heart was beating very fast, he stood listening to the chill eerie silence. Nothing… No screams. . . Where was Alina?

He moved forward between the serpent columns further into the Chamber. Every footstep echoing loudly off the shadowy walls. As he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue as high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.

He had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. And between the two feet, face down, lay a small, black-robed figure… Alina…

"Alina!" he shouted, sprinting to her and dropping to his knees. " Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead," he said through panting breath as he grabbed Alina's shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was as white as marble, she looked even paler than she had the night before. Her skin was cold, and her eyes were closed. She looked…

"Alina Please wake up!" he muttered desperately, shaking her slightly in his hands. Her head lolled hopelessly from side to side as he did.

"She won't wake," said a soft voice behind him.

" _Stupefy!"_ He turned quickly and flung the spell at the source of the voice that had broken the silence in the Chamber. As he turned he took note of the source of the voice.

A tall, black-haired boy, who looked like he couldn't be too much older than himself, was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. As his _stupefy_ spell neared the boy, the boy threw up a shield spell and blocked his spell with ease. The boy was strangely blurred around the edges at certain points in his body, as though he were looking at him through a misted window. He was holding a wand in one hand. Marik looked closer, he recognized that wand, there was no doubting it. Just yesterday that wand had been pointed at him at point blank range. It was Alina's wand.

"Who are you?" he asked the boy with Alina's wand. The boy just stared at him and made no attempt to answer his question. "What do you mean she won't wake? Is she dead?" He asked more questions, desperately looking for any answers.

"She's still alive," the boy started saying "but only just."

"Did you kill her? Are you the monster in the Chamber?" he fired off even more questions and tightened his grip around his wand. The boy laughed in response to his questions.

"No _I_ am not the monster in the Chamber, _it_ won't come until it is called," the boy answered him. His questions were getting him nowhere.

"Who are you? Answer me!" he shouted the question and raised his wand.

"My name Is Tom Riddle, or it used to be in another life," the boy answered. The name didn't ring any bells.

"You said she is alive. What happened to her? What did you do to her?" he shouted more questions trying to get any information that might help him save Alina, and figure out what was going on.

"Yes she is still alive… For the moment. Alina made the _choice_ to pour her soul into me," Tom Riddle answered him. His answer made no sense.

"What do you mean she made the choice to pour her soul into you? I doubt that was a choice she willingly made."

"Oh _yes_ it was. It was a choice she made every day since this summer when we first met. When she found me I was just a memory, a memory preserved in a diary for fifty years." Tom Riddle started saying. He looked over at a small book next to Alina as he spoke. Marik's eyes followed his to the book.

 _She had that book with her last night…_ He thought to himself as he looked at it on the ground next to her still body.

"It's quite the long story actually. Alina is like this because she opened her heart and spilled all of her secrets to me. I was patient and listened to her and over time Alina began to pour her soul into me, and a soul happened to be exactly what I needed. I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Black. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Black a few of _my_ secrets, to start pouring a little of _my_ soul back into _her…"_

"What do you mean?" His patience was almost running out.

"Haven't you guessed yet? Alina Black opened the Chamber of Secrets. She daubed the threatening blood messages on the walls. She set the monster loose on the mudblood who died," Tom Riddle said, calmly.

"No…" Was all he could get out. There was no way the sweet sincere girl he had met could be behind this.

"Yes, Of course she didn't _know_ what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her newer diary entries. . . far more interesting they became. . . . I believe you were even in a few. . . Marik Ose isn't it?" Tom Riddle said, and an eerie sneer crossed his face. How did Tom know his name? Did Alina tell him?

"It took a very long time for stupid little Alina to stop trusting her diary. She tried to dispose of it, she tried to fight it, but I was already too powerful to resist. And that's where we are now. Now in just a few more minutes the transformation of Alina's soul will be complete. Her body will lie in the Chamber forever and I will once again have a body of my own. You should feel honored. You will be the first to witness the return of the most powerful dark lord of all time." The sneer on Riddle's face had grown double in size.

He had heard all he needed to hear. He still didn't understand half of what the Riddle boy was saying but he had told him enough to know that he was the one responsible for Alina's current situation. Riddle said she would be alive for a few more minutes. A few minutes was enough to kick this creep's ass and save her. He readied himself.

" _Stupefy, expelliarmus, expulso!"_ He fired the powerful spell chain at Tom who was still leaning on the pillar across the Chamber.

Tom dodged the first two of the oncoming spells with a quick step to the right and threw up a shield to protect himself from Marik's tracking _expulso_ spell. Tom from his new position without saying a word silently sent a spell that came flying at a high speed towards him. He had no time to dodge and the spell collided with him. His body went flying backwards into one of the nearby snake statues and sent shattered bits of rock flying in all directions.

"You are no match for the great dark lord, Lord Voldemort. I'm going to teach you a lesson. A lesson that the rest of the world will soon learn. Discover what happens when someone goes against the powers of Lord Voldemort! _Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."_ Tom Riddle shouted, turning to face the large statue at the center of the Chamber.

 _Lord Voldemort_ … This was the wizard Harry had told he and Hermione about. This was the wizard that had tried to kill Harry when he was a baby. The dark wizard that had tried and almost succeeded to conquer magical Britain during the Great War they had learned about in class.

His train of thought was broken. The gigantic stone face of the statue was moving. Horrorstruck, he saw the mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole. And something… Something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths.

"The monster…" he whispered to himself.

"Yes, witness the power of the mighty beast of Slytherin!" Something hit the stone floor of the Chamber with a loud slap. From under the statue an enormous serpent had landed on the stone floor. He could hear it hissing as it uncoiled itself.

" _Kill him!"_ Tom shouted the command and instantly the snake started towards where he was on the floor.

 _Fuck._ Was the first thought that crossed his mind as he got to his feet and ran away. As Voldemort started laughing he did his best to channel his inner Hermione to think quickly. _Giant snake… Giant snake… Giant snake…_ He thought back to their lessons in class to see if it rang any bells. _Think you dumbass!_ He yelled at himself internally.

"Basilisk!" He said out loud to no one as the lesson came to mind. Basilisks have one of the world's deadliest venom, their hide is somewhat resistant to magic, they can live for an extremely long time, and… He was forgetting something important… but what?

He had to cut his train of thought momentarily as the snake lunged forward towards him. He dove out of the way and behind the nearest statue.

"Come on Marik think Dammit!" he yelled at himself. Deadly venom, live long, thick skin… "Deadly Eyes!" he remembered the last bit of their lesson. That was it. Basilisk's eyes could kill you if you made eye contact with them. He stood up and charged from behind the statue.

" _Obscuro!"_ He aimed the spell at the large basilisk as he ran to the next statue across the Chamber. Just as he hoped a large blindfold conjured itself and wrapped around the large head of the snake covering its deadly eyes.

"Professor Binns I swear to the magic gods I will never slack in your class again and will buy you a gift of thanks if I survive this. And Flitwick thank you for being such a crafty bastard!" He thanked his history of magic professor who had given him the lesson on basilisks back in his first year and his charm's professor who had used that blindfold spell on him countless times during their dueling sessions.

Now with the snake blindfolded the threat of it's death gaze was gone. However the basilisk still had overwhelming size, huge fangs, and not to mention deadly poison still working in it's favor. So basically the basilisk had a lot of shit left that could kill him.

"Okay Marik, you can do this," he told himself. " _Incarcerous!"_ He cast the spell as he again made his way out from behind the statue he was hiding behind.

Huge ropes shot out from his wand and starting wrapping themselves around the basilisk's enormous body. Once a large portion of the snake's head was wrapped in his ropes he aimed the remainder of the ropes around a few of the nearby statues to hopefully keep the snake held down. He aimed his next spells carefully at the basilisk's neck.

" _Diffindo, expulso!"_ The first seam splitting spell hit right where he had aimed on the snake's neck. The result was two of the thick scales being split apart revealing a softer portion of skin. His next spell hit dead-on in the weaker part of skin. The snake thrashed around as far as it could in the ropes it was bound in as part of its neck exploded.

In the wake of the explosion a much larger portion of the monster's neck was left open for attacks. Unfortunately, the explosion combined with the thrashing also snapped a few of his ropes, allowing the basilisk to once again move freely. Even though it was blindfolded, it knew right where he was and charged furiously at him again.

" _Impedimenta!"_ He slowed the advancing basilisk as much as he could and rolled to his left dodging the charge. He readied himself again for another round of spells.

" _Expulso, confringo!"_ He fired off a second volley of spells at the basilisk's neck again. His first spell exploded with the beast's neck again sending off a flurry of scales on its impact. His second spell lit the now open wound ablaze in a hot flurry of flames.

The basilisk again thrashed around in anger at the pain. The quick thrashes and movements made by the basilisk unfortunately put out his flames. It seemed he had done some damage but the fight was far from over. This time the snake charged at him much quicker than it had before. Unfortunately, he had moved away from any nearby cover which meant he was wide open and defenseless.

" _Protego!"_ He threw up a quick shield spell in front of the oncoming snake. The basilisk's attack burst right through his shield and the snake hit him head on sending him flying through the air a good twenty feet back. Thankfully, as he checked his body for wounds it appeared that he had not been bit. He grabbed his wand from the ground and got back up to his feet.

" _Umbrosio!"_ He cast his shadow magic spell and focused on harnessing its power.

He needed to get the Basilisk held down again now that it was freed from the ropes. So with that in mind he focused on the shadows in the Chamber as much as he could. Since the Chamber was barely lit up it gave him access to shadows in literally all directions. Channeling energy into the shadows of two of the large snake statues on either side of the again charging basilisk, he summoned an equally as large shadowy snake head from both of the statue's shadows.

His two shadow snake heads lunged wide mouthed at the basilisk and grabbed it at two separate parts along its body holding it in place at its spot in the Chamber. This was his chance, he was not sure how long his shadows would hold.

" _Expulso, expulso, umbrosio!"_ He fired off another spell chain hopeful that the spells would be enough. His first two spells exploded on the basilisk's neck sending another flurry of scales along with blood into the Chamber. His offensive _umbrosio_ spell drew in all the darkness in the Chamber to the tip of his wand before firing off towards the beast.

The shadow spell collided with the bleeding, weaker-skinned portion of the snake's neck an exploded in a fury of energy. The enormous basilisk gave off one more loud hiss before it landed with a thud on the Chamber floor unmoving, and unbreathing. He did it!

"Pity," he heard Tom Riddle say from the other side of the Chamber next to Alina's body, interrupting his momentarily mental celebrations. He started walking in the direction they were in.

"One giant-ass snake down, one Harry-and-Alina-attempting-killing-dark-lord to go," he told himself as he walked towards the boy who had claimed himself to be Lord Voldemort.

"Well done Mr. Ose. I am impressed. What Alina told me about your abilities I see were not exaggerated," Tom Riddle said, still with a creepy grin on his face.

"Shut up! Don't you talk about her anymore. I beat your monster now release Alina from whatever spell you cast on her. This is over!" he ordered.

"Hahaha!" Tom laughed at his order. "Oh I'm afraid for you this is far from over Mr. Ose. You can already see from my body that the spell is almost complete. You are too late." Sure enough the cloudiness around his body was now only visible in a few small spots.

"You may have beaten Slytherin's beast but even the mighty strength of a basilisk is no match compared to the power of Lord Voldemort. It's time for you to say goodbye to Miss Alina, and I'm afraid, it's time for you to say goodbye to this world. _Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort cast the spell he had never heard of in his direction. A bright green light headed directly at him. Even from a distance he could sense extreme power radiating from the spell.

" _Protego!"_ He shouted the shield spell and readied himself. However the spell never hit his shield. Just as he finished casting the shield spell he heard a loud clicking sound from behind him. Out of nowhere a large spider jumped in front of him and took the full impact of the spell. The spider's legs upon impact immediately tensed and the stopped moving as the eight eyes on its head went wide and blank. It was dead…

" _Strange Wizard!_ " A voice clicked from down the Chamber. He turned to look at its source. The voice belonged to the large spider, Aragog, from the forest. " _That spell is a killing spell! You cannot block it with normal spells! We will help distract him for you, you finish him!_ " The spider clicked an order and at once hundreds of other spiders emerged from the shadows towards Voldemort.

"You came…" he whispered as he watched what was now unfolding before him. They had said in the forest that they would not help him, but yet here they were. They had come to help. One of the spiders had even sacrificed himself to save his life.

" _Stop standing around! Do something!_ " the large spider clicked angrily at him.

"Right!" he said nodding his head and turning his attention back to his opponent. Voldemort was sending green wave after green wave towards the spiders. One by one he saw each spider it connected with immediately tense up and die. It was a terrifying and powerful spell to behold.

" _Stupefy, deprimo, expulso, expelliarmus!"_ He sent four more spells towards Voldemort over the heads of the countless number of spiders that were charging Voldemort. Voldemort deflected each one of his spells along with the fangs of the spiders with ease and just continued to grin.

" _Flipendo, incendio, locomotor mortis!"_ Another wave of spells left his wand and flew at high speeds towards Voldemort. Again he avoided them and sent another wave of green at the spiders.

"You weak fools! You think you could even compete with a dark lord as powerful as me. Look at me Marik! The spell is complete. You're friend is _dead!"_ In disbelief he looked over to Alina's body. It remained unmoving as it had before. He looked back to Voldemort. It seemed like the cloudiness around him was completely gone.

Did that mean what he said was true… Alina was really dead. . . His heart sank in his chest and he was filled with a flood of sadness and despair.

"No I won't believe you! She is still alive! _Stupefy, reducto, stupefy!_ " He turned back to Voldemort and sent off another wave of spells not allowing himself to believe that Alina was dead. Again Voldemort cast his spells aside.

"You don't believe me. Well here then, I will prove it to you. _Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort cast the green spell again, this time towards Alina.

"NOOOOOO!" he screamed in an agony of fear as he reached out his arm towards the small girl lying on the ground. The spell closed in on her. Tears streamed from his eyes as all he could do was reach out and watch. He was too far away from her. He felt his magic pulling at him begging him to do something as the spell closed in, but what could he do. He felt so weak and helpless that he just let it pull at him, it was hopeless anyways. The green light made its way over to Alina's spot on the ground.

However, just as the green light was about to collide with Alina's body a figure emerged from the ground in front of Alina. The figure looked like a shade formed out of shadows itself as it stood the size of a tall man whose body was built out of chaotic swarming cloud of blackness. The green spell collided with the figure instead of Alina and a huge release of magical energy filled the Chamber blinding him. When the light disappeared Alina was still on the floor in the exact spot and position she had been in before.

 _The shadowy figure blocked the spell . . . But how . . . Was that his shadow magic . . . Did he somehow do that . . ._

He turned his gaze back over to Voldemort, who for a second had a shocked look on his face before it returned back to his normal one.

" _Ava…"_ Once again Voldemort had his wand pointed at Alina and was casting another one of the deadly green spells. He had to do something. He couldn't rely on whatever just had happened to happen again. Who knows if it even would or could happen again. He thought frantically for a solution to end this. Nothing came though. He looked around even more frantically in a panic, desperate for anything. But nothing except anger, sadness, despair, and hate came.

All around him spiders were dying, and now Alina was about to die. Because he couldn't save her. . . Because he was too weak. His heart again dropped into the empty pit of his chest, his skin went cold, and his eyes already ached from the tears streaming out of them. He fell to his knees, hopeless.

"Please…" he begged. "ALINAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screamed out as two green spells left Voldemort's wand. One headed for him, and one headed right at Alina's defenseless body.

At once he felt light headed. A surge of magic went through him as he screamed Alina's name. All of the tears on his face starting burning. All of the anger he felt inside seemed to spring to the surface of his cold skin like a raging fire and at once his skin started to feel like it was burning deep inside a hot flame.

Inside his chest where he had felt the agony and sadness just seconds early it now felt like needles were stabbing endlessly at every inch of insides. He was in such an indescribable pain it felt like he was going to die alongside Alina right there, just a few feet away from each other in the Chamber. _Their bodies would lie in the Chamber forever._ All he could see in front of him with his blurred vision was Alina's body, motionless on the floor, and the man who had killed her. The man he hated.

He felt the hate for the man swirling inside him. The rest of his emotions seemed to join in on the hurricane storm of pain, agony, sadness, and hate raging inside his chest. After who knows how long all the pain and emotions swirling through him seemed to disappear. All that was left in the absence was a calm silence.

All of the light and darkness in the world around him seemed to have vanished. He felt blind. There was no longer the chaos of the Chamber in his vision but just an endless sea of grey. No light, no darkness . . . just . . . silence . . . and . . . nothingness.

In the distance of the endless grey a bright blue light appeared. It was beautiful cast against the endless grey. It stood out like a beautiful blue orchid in a field of bland-grey flowers. The beautiful shade of blue reminded him of . . . Alina's eyes . . . The pain, and the world around him returned at the thought of her.

At once as the Chamber replaced the endless grey in his vision again as all of the previous emotions and pain returned to his chest. Only this time, a hundreds time worse. He screamed out in agony as every muscle in his body tensed uncontrollably in reaction to the pain. The torture his body was in seemed to be an endless torment of suffering and jagged knives.

He opened his eyes to see if it was Voldemort who was causing him this pain with a spell. He never saw the boy named Tom Riddle though. As soon as he opened his eyes all of the light and darkness in the room seemed to flow into them and his vision was again changed. This time it was filled with a sea of perfect black. The entirety of the darkness in the Chamber seemed to have entered into his eyes and he could almost feel it swirling through his head and body just as the pain and emotions were doing.

After what felt like another eternity another color appeared in his vision. This time a speck of white at the center of his vision appeared, just as the bright blue had before..

" _Marik!_ " He thought he heard someone call his name out from somewhere in the distance. All he could see though was the white dot cast in a sea of endless black in his vision. The white dot started to grow larger. Faster and faster the small speck of white light grew and grew engulfing the darkness in his vision as it did so, the pain inside him growing along with it.

This was the end . . .

 _I'm Dying_ . . . was the only thing that came to mind as the suffering grew worse.

In an instant the white speck had engulfed the entirety of the darkness in his vision. As the last few traces of darkness drifted away he felt all the pain, emotion, and magic inside of his body shoot through every pore of his skin. The pain was unimaginable. . . and unbearable. . .

As the white engulfed the last speck of black an image of his friends flashed briefly into his mind. _Hermione. . . Harry. . . Alina. . ._ It was replaced quickly though, by even more darkness, and even more pain. Pain. . . The indescribable pain was the only thing he felt as he drifted away into the black behind his eyes, and got lost, deep inside the darkness. . .

* * *

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	22. Book2: Chapter 11

**Hermione**

"Marikkk!" Her scream was barely even audible to her as Marik's horrifying screams echoed off the Chamber's walls. She had never heard a more terrifying and harrowing sound before in her life.

Only moments earlier had she, Harry, and Daphne had arrived at Hogwarts. The minister's floo had taken them right to the Headmaster's office, just as Daphne had told them it would. They had expected the castle upon their arrival to have aurors and ministry workers crawling all over the place, but after they left the Headmaster's office it appeared that they were the only people inside the large castle.

As they had left the Headmaster's office and made their way to the Great Hall they found the reason why the castle was still empty. Just as the ministry guard had said the entire grounds and large portions of the castle were covered in thousands and thousands of spiders. She had thought at the time that she would never see a more horrifying sight. She would be soon proven wrong with that thought soon enough though.

Luck seemed to be on their side though as they started planning how to avoid all the spiders. A loud clicking sound had echoed through the hall's of the school and in response all of the spiders in the castle and on the grounds started heading off in one direction. Hoping that the spiders may lead them to Marik and Alina the three of them had followed the spiders from a distance back. After leading them into the school's pipes and down a seemingly endless path of twisting tunnels they arrived at a door that opened into what they could only assume was the Chamber of Secrets.

After finding the door they all quickly ran through it and into the Chamber. This is where she saw truly the most horrifying thing she had ever seen.

Following Harry and Daphne into the Chamber it took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to what was happening inside. All of the spiders were converging on a boy at one side of the Chamber. On the other side of the Chamber all she could see over the heads of the spiders was Marik falling to his knees. That's when. . . _it_ , started.

Just as the boy on the other side of the Chamber sent two enormous green spells towards Marik's direction, the Chamber filled with Marik's screams. It was no normal sounding scream though. The scream was louder than any noise a person normally could make, and sounded as if Marik's vocal cords were being shredded apart. The intensity of the scream's emotions echoed throughout the Chamber, bringing tears instantly to her eyes with them as she could almost sense what he was feeling.

In a split second though the screams had died, and the Chamber grew much quieter.

"Marikkkk!" she screamed out, tears flowing uncontrollably down her face.

If he heard her screams she would never know. At once following the termination of Marik's screams all of the Darkness inside the Chamber seemed to converge towards and into Marik. All around them the Chamber became brighter as all of the shadows vanished and the darkness disappeared. It became impossible to see anything as the last few specks of black in her vision converged into her best friend. Even the light from the green spells the other boy in the Chamber had cast seemed to flow into Marik.

This all happened in an instant. Before she could even react and draw her wand to cast a _lumos_ spell a small source of light appeared at the end of the Chamber. From what she could make out in all of the darkness it looked like two small, glowing white eyes. From their location they could have possibly been Marik's eyes, but it was hard to tell.

Before she could examine them any further though the small sources of light began to grow. As they grew the Chamber once again became illuminated, this time with a bright white glow instead of the previous green darkness that had been present.

The light grew and grew and the Chamber continued to get brighter and brighter. After another brief moment she again for the second time found it impossible to see anything in the Chamber. This time her vision was filled with a blindingly bright white light instead of the previous darkness. It was so bright that her eyes strained just from looking at it. She tried to close her eyes but even closed the light shined through her eyelids.

 _What is going on?_ She thought to herself in a state of panic. Before she could finish the thought though in the blink of an eye all of the light converged back into Marik's body and exploded outwards throughout the Chamber in a huge release of magical energy.

Her body, along with Harry's and Daphne's were sent flying back into the wall of the Chamber behind them. Her back collided with a stone in the wall and immediately she felt blood soaking through her shirt. Before she could digest the pain and comprehend what had just happened though each one of the snake head statues lining the walls of the Chamber exploded, sending a blast of rocks outwards in the explosion's wake.

The entire Chamber started to shake as all of the walls and pillars throughout it collapsed and exploded in the wake of whatever the hell had just taken place. Huge stones were falling from the roof that was hidden in the shadows a hundred or so feet above them. It truly looked like pure chaos around them.

"Hermione, Daphne!" she heard a voice shout from her left. She turned her head towards the source. It was Harry. A brief sigh of relief came over her as she saw that he was okay. "Hermione, Daphne we have to get them!" Harry was shouting. It took her a few seconds to register what he was saying. Everything felt so slow and wavy around her. She must have hit her head in the collision.

After she was able to register what Harry was saying she got up to her feet. Harry and Daphne were already running towards the other side of the Chamber. As quickly as her body would allow her to she followed them. At the other side of the Chamber the chaos was even worse. All around them rocks were falling from the ceiling and the ground was shaking. Up ahead, only a few feet away on the ground were two bodies.

Next to a small pool of water Daphne's sister Alina's body was sprawled out on the Chamber's floor. The girl looked much paler than she remembered her being during the few times she had seen her previously. Other than her skin being pale however, she showed no other physical wounds or other signs of being injured or. . . She never finished the thought.

Next to Alina's outstretched hand lay Marik. While Alina looked for the most part unharmed, Marik looked the polar opposite. His normally tan skin was ghost white. His body looked. . . She couldn't find the words for it.

All over his pale skin were black spots and splotches. They didn't look like burns, and were too dark to be blood or anything else she could think of. She had no idea what they were. The more she looked at him the more she was able to see that the black spots were moving, as if they were traveling under his skin.

She looked at one of the spots on his face more closely. The dark spot grew and changed its shape until it stretched in a jagged looking line starting from Marik's chest, up his neck, until it ended right above one of his eyes. After another brief moment the black spot vanished completely and another one appeared a few inches away from where the previous one had started.

" _Torag!_ " A loud voice clicked from behind them. She turned to see the source. Two large spiders were running towards them. She was in so much shock from all that had happened that the thought to raise her wand never even crossed her mind. The two spiders ran past the her, Harry, and Daphne and towards the two bodies on the ground. Each of the spiders picked up one of the bodies in their large pincers and started running off towards the part of the cave they had arrived at.

"Bring me my sister back!" Daphne shouted and started firing off spells at the spiders as she ran in the direction that they had already vanished into. All at once the rest of the spiders followed the two larger spiders. Without saying a word to each other she and Harry made eye contact and started following after the spiders and Daphne. They would not let the spiders take Alina and Marik after all that had just happened.

All around them as they ran the Chamber was collapsing. More than once she and Harry had to make a dive to avoid a large falling rock. Unfortunately for them the large spiders were much faster and they had lost sight of them after a few minutes. Luckily though they were able to keep pace with a few of the smaller trailing spiders. Just as they did when they arrived at Hogwarts earlier in the night, they followed the trail of spiders through the tunnels until at last they saw light.

At the end of the tunnel she could see that the sun was just starting to come up over the horizon. Following Harry's lead they climbed the hill beside the pipe's entrance onto the main grounds of the school. Just a few feet in front of them she saw Daphne on her knees on the ground. She was hunched over crying. Beneath her and clasped in an embrace was her sister's body. A few feet away from Alina's body Marik's body also lay on the grass.

The spiders that had taken the bodies and left them there. She looked at the last spiders that she could see and saw that they all had returned into the forest. The spiders had saved Alina and Marik's bodies from getting crushed and left in the Chamber. They also most likely saved her, Harry, and Daphne's lives to by leading them out.

Moving on their own, her legs started carrying her over to where Marik's body lay. She dropped to her knees as she arrived next to him, and reached out and took his hand in her own. Looking at him it was hard to visualise his normal smirk and smile, they seemed so impossible at the moment. The black spots were still moving and growing all over his body, appearing and disappearing one after another.

The tears once again returned to her eyes as she looked at him. He looked awful, like he could break just from her touch. Feeling weak and like she might pass out from how hard she was breathing she laid her head down on his chest, clutching her best friend in her arms.

Even as cold as his skin looked he still felt warm to her. She closed her eyes, hoping that might stop her tears. It didn't work.

 _It would be easy to just lay here forever and pretend this was all just a dream._ She thought to herself. With her eyes closed, listening to the fast beating of Marik's heart, and laying on his chest it was easy to believe that her friend was still alive. . . and still with her. . .

"Wait!" she shouted panicking! Lifting her head quickly off of Marik's chest.

"Hermione what is it?" Harry said from behind her. She ignored him.

"H-h-heartbeat! Hearbeat! Harry! He is alive! Marik is still alive!" She stood up as she shouted. She couldn't believe it. She wasn't crazy, she had heard his heart beating. Sure enough as she looked closer although it was minimal she could see her friend's chest barely moving up and down as he breathed.

"What?" Harry shouted, sounding like he did not believe her. Harry got down on his knees and put his ear next to Marik's heart. She turned her head to see Daphne doing the same with Alina. She crossed her fingers. Daphne lifted her head and to the sky and again started crying. This time though she could see the tears were different. This time they looked happy. Alina had a heartbeat too.

 _Her best friend was alive. . ._

 _Alina was alive. . ._

"Hey over there!" a voice shouted from somewhere on the grounds. She looked at the source and saw that a group of around fifteen aurors were running towards them.

"Please help us!" she shouted as she saw them. "We need to get them to St. Mungos now!"

"What is going on here? What happened here?" one of the aurors asked them.

"We can answer your questions later. Please help them!" Hermione pleaded with the aurors, feeling hopeful for the first time in a while that things might actually turn out okay.

All of the aurors seemed frozen to the ground, as they looked at the two bodies on the ground. After a few seconds one of them finally spoke up. She saw that it was their Professor Kingsley, who seemed to be wearing his old auror robes. She looked at where his eyes were fixed and saw that he was looking worryingly at Marik on the ground.

"Everyone, get ready to portkey to St. Mungos now! Tonks send word to Scrimgeour that we found the two remaining missing students, along with two others. And Tonks. . ." Professor Kingsley was saying to the other aurors.

"Yeah Kings?" the auror named Tonks answered.

"Keep this as tight to the chest as you can. No one besides us here and Scrimgeour knows about this until we have to tell them. I don't want Fudge and his people swarming this for as long as we can avoid it," Kingsley finished saying.

"Count on it Kings," Tonks replied and walked away from their group.

"Mister Potter and Miss Granger I will take Marik to St. Mungos myself and Miss Black my colleague Alastor Moody will transport your sister. You can trust him I promise. Is that alright with all of you?" Kingsley calmly asked the three of them. They all nodded. "Okay then, if you will each stand next to one of the aurors over there they will escort you three as well. I want all of you to get checked out," Kingsley said and the three of them made their way over to the aurors.

Each of the aurors pulled out a small feather that had been turned into a portkey and held them out for them to hold onto. After first seeing Alina and Marik disappear, the three of them shortly after were sucked into their portkeys. After the uncomfy feeling vanished they arrived in what she guessed was the entrance of St. Mungos Hospital.

"Follow me," the auror that had transported her ordered. Listening she followed the auror and she was led down a few hallways and into a patient room. "This is the aurors wing of the hospital. A doctor will be in any moment to check you out. Will you be okay if I wait outside the door?" the auror asked her. She nodded, and the auror left the room. Everything had happened so fast she was only half listening to him.

Wizard hospitals seemed to have a lot in common with muggle hospitals. Just like in all the other hospitals she had visited before she found herself waiting for quite some time for a doctor to show up. She didn't mind though. She knew her wounds were small and she hoped a doctor not being here meant they were wherever Marik was helping him. After another half hour or so of waiting a doctor finally showed up.

"Sorry for making you wait Miss Granger. Unfortunately we are not at full staff around this time in the morning. Now let's take a look at you," the doctor said and started looking her wounds over.

"Do you know how my friend is doing?" she asked the doctor as he looked her over. "And the girl that was brought with him." she quickly added.

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to give you that information," the doctor answered her but then continued. "However, someone will be speaking with you after our examination and I'm sure he will be able to answer all of your questions," the doctor finished saying, and smiled at her. She hoped that smile was a sign of good news, and not a fake one. Silence remained in the room for the rest of the doctor's examination.

"All right you are good to go now Miss Granger. Just make sure you drink this potion once a day for the next two days and don't put yourself through anything stressful the next few days. You got a pretty large cut on your back but it should be healed in no time," the doctor told her as he walked her to the door.

 _Yeah right nothing stressful. . . My best friend may or may not be dead, my parents will find out now I snuck out at night, and I will probably be arrested for sneaking into the ministry and assaulting two workers. . . So yeah not getting stressed is easy._ She joked to herself as she walked out the door. The doctor led her down the hallway of the hospital to a room a few doors down from hers.

Outside of the room a large group had formed. The group was mainly made up of the aurors that had found them at Hogwarts along with Kingsley. She also saw that Harry was sitting on a bench right outside one of the patient room's door. Another wave of relief came over her as she saw her friend. Harry did his best to put up a smile as she approached him, she could tell it was forced though. She ignored all of the other people in the hallway and made a straight line towards her friend. When she made it to the bench she wrapped him in as hard a hug as she could.

"Thanks Hermione, I needed that. How are you doing?" Harry asked her.

"The doctor said I'm all good and should heal quick. How about you?" she asked him.

"Same, I only got a small cut on my arm," Harry answered her and raised his arm to show a few stitches.

"Have you?" she started to ask. He shook his head before she finished though signaling he had not yet heard anything about Marik. The two of them didn't say anything else after that. She joined him on the bench and the both of them just sat in silence outside of the room she guessed was Mariks. Outside of a few aurors asking if they needed anything the hallway they were in and the room they were sitting outside of was silent. For what felt like hours they sat in silence waiting.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," a voice said as the door to the patient's room opened. She was surprised to see that the voice belonged to their Headmaster Dumbledore. "Please come in," Headmaster Dumbledore said to them motioning with his hand for them to enter the room with him. They both quickly got up from the bench they were on and hurried into the room. She closed her eyes as she entered, giving herself a moment to prepare herself.

Laying on the bed her best friend looked more like himself than he had in the Chamber and at the school. His skin had returned closer to its usual darker tan color, however he was still covered in the black spots that were still moving around all over him. She looked at his chest and could see that it was still moving up and down, although sporadically _. He is alive. . . Thank god._

Her thanks only lasted for a second though. All of the sudden Marik's entire body turned to a deep shade of black and he started to thrash around uncontrollably in his bed. For the first time since she had arrived in the room she noticed that he was being held down by magic clamps on both his wrists and ankles. After a few seconds of the thrashing around stopped and the color of Marik's skin returned back to normal. As if nothing had happened Marik again looked like his normal self plus a few black spots, as he just lay in the bed, almost peacefully.

"Sir?" she started to ask the question.

"I'm afraid we only have some ideas Miss Granger. We were actually hoping the two of you could help us," The Headmaster said, looking directly at her with his bright eyes.

"What? How could we help you sir?" Harry asked their Headmaster from beside her.

"All we know about Mr. Ose's current condition is that he is struggling to maintain his body's form in our dimension. We do not know how to help him with this, or what may have caused this." The Headmaster paused to clear his throat and pop a small piece of candy he had taken from his robes into his mouth. "What the two of you just saw has been happening sporadically since Mr. Ose arrived here," The Headmaster explained.

"Sir, you said you had some ideas. What did you mean by that?" she asked the Headmaster.

"And what do you mean he is struggling to maintain a form in our _dimension_?" Harry asked looking confused.

"To answer both of your questions I only can say this. When Mr. Ose's body begins to thrash it takes a black, almost shadowy-sort of form. Correct an old man if I'm wrong but I do believe the form he takes resembles the one we saw during Mr. Ose's duel this summer," the Headmaster answered.

The Headmaster was right. Marik's body did morph into the same form that it had during the duel tournament. Even the splotches of moving black on his skin looked like Marik's shadow magic. How had she not connected those dots before?

"I still don't get it," Harry said. "What does that have to do with why he is struggling and whatever you said about dimensions." From the sound of Harry's voice it was clear he was having as tough a time dealing with all of this as she was.

"This is where my idea's become just hypotheses I am afraid. I believe Marik's magic somehow did this to himself. I think that this was the same spell or at least similar magic to that which he cast over the summer during his final duel. From what I remember of the magic I saw in the duel his body changed from one form to the other and then back again. This time I think for some reason his body is struggling to return back to its original form.

"Since I was not there when this happened I can only make inferences based off his duel. During the duel over the summer it looked as if Marik's body lost its physical form and essentially in easiest terms became a shadow. I am assuming that is how he was able to dodge Miss Delacour's spells." The Headmaster paused briefly and moved the candy inside his mouth to the other side.

"When Mr. Ose attacked Miss Delacour his body then returned back into it's normal form and released all of the excess magic outwards towards his opponent. This time though my guess is that due to whatever happened to Mr. Ose the excess magic did not release outwards but instead stayed inside Mr. Ose, maybe even attacking him from the inside. That is why it may be that his body is sporadically still switching between forms. It might be that his body is trying to find a way to control whatever magic is fighting him. Although again this is only a guess.

"Mr. Ose chose to keep his spell creation magic project a secret outside of the necessary documents he had to turn in for his projects. As a fellow creator and scholar I know it is rude and impolite to pry on someone's spell creations when they have chosen to keep them to themselves but I'm afraid for the moment I must be rude." Dumbledore switched the candy back again to the other side.

"I'm assuming as close as you three are that Mr. Ose told you both about his spell creations? If so, if there is anything you might know about the magic or spells he created it may help save him." Headmaster Dumbledore looked at the both of them with his eyebrows raised.

"He told us but. . ." she started to say but was interrupted as Marik's body shifted forms again and began thrashing. Her eyes ached as more tears found their way out. It was amazing that there were any of them left.

"He showed us all the spells he created and told us all about them. He even tried to help us learn it, but we never could perform it. Only Marik could. Even he had no idea how he did whatever he did at the dueling tournament. He had actually been trying to figure it out over the year so far. The only spells he knew where ones he did during the dueling tournament and his end of year project," Harry finished her answer.

"Hmmm. . . " The Headmaster leaned back in the chair he had sat down in and scratched his beard. "Very well then. Kingsley could you excuse us?" Dumbledore asked. She had not even realised that Kingsley had been in the room with them with all that had happened. Kingsley patted Marik's feet before he left the room with a nod of his head leaving just the four of them inside.

"Miss Granger. . . Mr. Potter. . . I need to know now what happened inside the Chamber. There might be something more we can do for Mr. Ose but I need to know all of the information first." Dumbledore looked at the both of them.

"Well. . ." she started to tell him the story of what happened. She started her story with the three of them walking out of the Great Hall, in hopes that the Headmaster would not question them on how they ended up at the school.

Throughout her story the Headmaster listened intently only stopping her once when Marik's body again changed and started thrashing. When she finished telling the Headmaster all that happened he just sat there looking off in the distance, deep in his thoughts.

"I'm afraid to say that I am even more bewildered than I was before," the Headmaster said, resulting in both her and Harry's heads dropping. "I think now all we can do it wait and ho. . ." The Headmaster was interrupted.

"Alina!" a voice in the hall was shouting loudly. Shortly after the shout the door to their room opened. It was Daphne's sister Alina. Wearing only her hospital gown Hermione could see that some of the girl's color had returned to her skin and she already looked a little better.

"Marik!" the girl shouted Marik'ss name as she ran across the room and engulfed Marik's body in a full body hug.

"I'm sorry sir. I turned my head for one second," a small auror said, apologizing from the hallway.

"It is fine. Please close the door and wait outside," the Headmaster ordered and the auror nodded and closed the door behind him. Alina was crying loudly as she hugged Marik's body. Her head was moving up and down to the rhythm of Marik's breathing and her tears were running down the skin on his chest.

"I'm so sorry. . ." Alina kept saying in whispered breaths through her tears and heaves.

"ALINA!" another shout could be heard from the hallway as the door once again opened. This time the door opened to reveal Daphne and the small auror now on the ground with a black eye.

"Alina you need to get back in bed! Please. . ." Daphne pleaded to her sister, her voice for once absent of any ice.

Alina just kept apologizing. Hermione scooted over in her chair and motioned for Daphne to sit beside her, surprisingly she did. Everyone in the room just sat there in silence for a while. The only sound was Alina's muffled tears and her occasional whisper of _I'm sorry_.

" _Alina. . ._ " she heard a whisper from someone in the room. She looked around to see who had broke the silence. From the looks she received it appeared everyone else in the room was doing the same.

"Was that?" she asked everyone excited. The Headmaster stood up from his seat and went over to the bed. She switched her eyes between Marik and their Headmaster hoping for good news. She could see Marik's mouth was moving every once in awhile, but he was not saying anything. "What?" she asked after the Headmaster had still said nothing.

"I am afraid I still don't know any more. While it may be a good sign that he was able to speak it may also not mean anything. It could just be that he is talking in his sleep," the Headmaster answered.

"Alina. . . what happened?" Harry asked his cousin again breaking the silence. All eyes in the room including hers turned to the crying girl next to Marik.

"It was Voldemort. . ." was all Alina got out before she started crying again. Hermione recognized the name. Voldemort was the dark wizard who had tried to kill Harry when he was a baby. But he was dead? What did he have to do with this? How could he have anything to do with this? Apparently the name meant a lot more to both the Headmaster and Harry who both had much more of an obvious reaction to the name.

"Was he the boy in the Chamber?" she asked to no one in particular.

"What boy?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked quickly, his interest peaked.

"Sorry, with all the chaos I totally forgot. Right when we entered the Chamber there was another boy there. I couldn't get a good look at him though and he disappeared after everything happened," she answered the Headmaster's question.

"Alina was the boy in the Chamber Voldemort?" Harry asked her. She could see the wheels turning in the Headmaster's head.

"I don't remember ever being in the Chamber. . . I don't remember much of anything. . ." Alina started to answer, it looked like her eyes had somewhat dried. "All I remember right now is the name Tom. . . and him." She pointed at Marik when she finished speaking.

"Tom Riddle," was all Dumbledore said in return.

"Who is Tom Riddle sir?" she asked curiously.

"Tom Riddle was an old student of Hogwarts. A student that would later go by a different name. Lord Voldemort."

"Did _he_ do this?" Harry asked the Headmaster.

"I don't know Mr. Potter, I don't know," the Headmaster answered. She was so confused. Almost none of this made any sense to her. "If you will excuse me for a minute I do believe all of your parents will be arriving shortly and I would like to speak with them first. I also need to inform Marik's doctor that he hasn't had a seizure in over thirty minutes now," the Headmaster said to them as he stood up and headed to the door.

"Is that a good thing?" Alina asked from her spot next to Marik. Her head was still on his chest.

"I hope so," was all the Headmaster said as he closed the door behind him. The room once again returned to silence.

"Hermione I need to tell you something. . ." Harry said beside her. She turned to him and was shocked. Harry's face was fully covered in tears. Harry was crying.

"Harry what's. . ." she started to say, reaching her hand out towards his and taking it. She could see Daphne fidgeting uncomfortably in her chair in the corner of her eye at the sight of her cousin crying.

"This is my fault. . ." Harry started to say before more tears came out interrupting him. She had never seen him like this before. It broke her inside to see him like this.

"Harry of course this isn't your fault. Why would you even think that?" She tried to comfort him.

"Because Voldemort was after me," Harry answered through tears.

"What?" she and Daphne said in unison. They both made eye contact briefly before turning their head confused at what Harry had said.

"In our first year it wasn't Quirrell who brought the troll to the school. Voldemort was possessing Quirrell. Voldemort brought the troll to the school," Harry slowly replied.

"Harry, Voldemort is dead," Daphne said from the other side of the room.

"No. . . Voldemort is still alive, or something close to it. He came to the school in our first year to try and get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone, which Dumbledore had in his possession. Dumbledore also told me that he likely came to the school because I was there. Although I didn't really do anything Voldemort and the world see me as the one who defeated him. Because of that I am his number one target. I think all of this is what Dobby was trying to warn me about. I'm s- so, so s-sorry," Harry answered, starting to stutter.

"I didn't tell you and Marik because I didn't want the both of you to worry about me. I didn't want anything to change. I didn't want to lose my only friends," Harry finished talking as he placed his head into his hands.

"Harry. . ." Was all she got out as more tears found their way to her eyes. She reached out again for his had.

"This wasn't your fault Harry," Alina said from her spot in the room. She never opened her eyes as she spoke.

"What? How can you say that?" Harry asked her.

"Tom Riddle didn't know anything about Harry Potter, he didn't know anything about any of you before me," she answered him, her voice sure and confident.

"How do you know that?" Daphne asked. She looked worried.

"Because he told me," Alina answered her sister's question.

"What?" Daphne again asked.

"Like I told Dumbledore I don't remember much, but I do remember a few things. I found Tom Riddle's Diary in my bag over the summer. I wrote in all the time, and Tom wrote back. When I didn't have friends at Hogwarts Riddle was my _friend_. Eventually the more I wrote the less I remembered and the more things. . . and I started to change.

"He used the diary to possess me. I don't remember opening the Chamber but I know I did, I don't remember meeting Tom Riddle but I know I did. The one thing I do remember though is writing about you guys. I remember writing in the diary after opening ceremony and telling Tom how excited I was to be like you guys when I saw you all getting special recognitions.

"Tom asked me who you all were, and what you were to me. He had never heard of your names before. No Harry, this is not your fault. If it's anyone's fault it's mine. After all, I'm the one who stunned Marik and made him miss the train back home. . . That part I remember _vividly_. . ." Alina fell back onto Marik's chest as she started crying again.

"It's neither one of your faults," she spoke up. "Harry it's not your fault some psycho tried to kill you when you were a baby. Alina it isn't your fault for writing in a diary that just happened to be possessed. I write in a diary almost everyday.

"Harry you are stupid if you think me and Marik would stop being your friends for any reason! And Alina if you had not stunned Marik we would never have come to the castle, Marik would not have been there to do whatever he did, and you would be dead right now. Stop feeling bad. Marik needs us to be strong right now, for him. And I know for a fact that he would not want us blaming ourselves and being sad!" she said, getting it all off her chest.

"Well said Miss Granger," Dumbledore said from the doorway. "I'm afraid though I need Miss Alina and Miss Daphne to go back to their rooms and you and Mr. Potter to come outside. All of your parents are here and I think we should allow Mr. and Mrs. Ose some time with their son." She internally shivered at the thought of seeing her parents, whom she knew would be irate at her for sneaking out.

"Alina!" Sirius shouted from down the hallway and bolted towards the girl. He looked completely different than he had over the summer. His bright eyes and smile now looked like someone who had been tortured. While it was happy to see him hold his daughter, it was sad imagining what it must have been like for him thinking his daughter was dead.

"Hermione!" Her train of thought was interrupted as her parents both engulfed her into a hug.

"Thank god you are alright," her mother said as she tightened her grip around her. Down the hall Harry was smiling at her as both of his parents were doing the same to him. She couldn't help but smile back. She had already started to miss that smile of his, it was good to see it again.

As the door to Marik's room closed she saw one last sight of his body turning black as it started thrashing again. She could hear both of Marik's parents crying as they saw their son in that state.

"Be okay please Marik," She whispered to him as the door to Marik's room closed. "Please be okay."

* * *

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	23. Book2: Chapter 12

**Alina**

"Hogwarts!" she Shouted the name of the school out as she tossed the floo powder at her feet. Her body immediately felt like it was being squashed and pulled through a winding small tube as the floo powder activated. Before she was able to get used to the feeling she felt her feet land on solid ground and she opened her eyes. She was back.

"Welcome back Miss Black," the Headmaster called out to her as the fire in the fireplace died down. As she dusted the left over floo powder off her school robes she could start to see that he was sitting behind his desk, he had that usual twinkle in his eye. This was the first time she had ever been in the Headmaster's office before. Under normal circumstances she would have been terrified to have to be here but today she was thrilled.

All around the room were mysterious looking objects making all sorts of strange and fascinating sounds. She could see on one of the many shelves of the rooms only a few objects that she actually recognized. One of which she noticed was the old Sorting Hat, who looked to be taking a nap on a stack of large books. Her curiosity and the awe at all the strange things in the Headmaster's office created made it hard for her eyes not to wander.

"Thank you sir!" she answered, not able to hide her excitement at being back.

"How are we feeling today?" Dumbledore asked her.

"I'm feeling much better sir thank you for asking. Doctor Murino said I'm doing better than he had expected already and the rest of my magic should return by the end of the week," she answered. A large red phoenix beside the Headmaster squawked following her answer. Only in Dumbledore's office would someone be able to not notice a phoenix with all the other fascinating things around. She gave the bird a smile and slight bow of her head as it bowed its head to her.

"I'm relieved to hear that. And I am glad you will at last be returning to us," the Headmaster responded, his eyes twinkling again as he spoke.

"Me too sir, although I must day that I am nervous. There are lots of blank spots still from this year so far, I'm scared of how behind I will be in my classes," she replied honestly.

Hogwarts had been closed the day she had been taken into the Chamber, which was almost two weeks earlier than the school would have normally been closed for holiday break. The ministry board members along with Headmaster Dumbledore decided even with the basilisk defeated that the school would stay closed until the beginning of the new year, and as a result all of the students would receive a longer holiday break. For most students this came as a relief. For them, any opportunity to get a break from school work and studies was a good thing. However, for her it was a bad thing, especially since was already behind everyone else.

Since the day Marik, Daphne, Hermione, Harry, and the spiders had all come to rescue her she had been stuck in her hospital room until today. During her stay in the hospital everyone from her parents, the minister, aurors, and many others came to interview her and ask all the questions they could to try and piece together what happened. In the end they all told her that all they were able to piece together was that the diary she had been writing in is what possessed her, which she already knew. Unfortunately no one had any idea what the magic was, or how it worked.

As unlikely as it may sound being possessed is actually a very bad thing, especially when it comes to being a possessed student who is supposed to be doing class work. Although pieces of her memory here and there had returned, there were still huge gaps in all of her lessons and classes. To make things worse her doctor had made her stay at St. Mungos a full two weeks after Hogwarts opened back up, which meant she had another two weeks of missed classes to catch up on. So you might say that so far her first year was not going so smoothly. Thankfully though, at least she was finally back. And thankfully she felt entirely herself.

"Well Miss Black all of the professors are aware of your situation and I am sure they will be understanding, at least for a short while. Although from what I have heard about your abilities in class I am sure you will catch up quickly," the Headmaster stood up from behind his desk as he spoke. She couldn't help but smile after being complimented by the Headmaster.

 _I wonder if Daphne has ever been complimented by the Headmaster?_ She daydreamed to herself. The Headmaster walked over as she daydreamed and tapped the Sorting Hat, who had started snoring, on the tip of his hat waking him up.

"Sir, I wanted to apologize again for everything," she said, looking down at her feet. She had apologized to him and everyone else over a hundred times probably by now. No matter how many times she apologized though she still felt guilty for everything that had happened.

"Again Miss Black there is no need for you to apologize. The same boy responsible for possessing you once walked the same hallways as me for seven years. The same boy opened the Chamber before and killed another girl. The fault is on me if it is on anyone, for not being able to do anything or connect the dots in time. However," the Headmaster popped a sweet into his mouth from one of the many trays of candy on his desk "for now you should put it all out of your mind." He finished saying with a smile.

"Right sir. Thank you again for everything." She gave a slight curtsy as she headed towards the door. "Oh and sir," she said turning back to the Headmaster.

"Yes Miss Black?" the Headmaster asked her.

"My dad wanted me to threaten you, and he gave me a few choice words to make sure I told you. However, I like being a student here and don't want you to expel me, so if he asks you will you tell him I told you? He promised me a new set of dueling boots if I did," she told the Headmaster nervously.

Her dad had taken everything a lot worse than anyone else she knew had. If it had not been for Harry's dad her father probably would have hexed half of magical Britain that night. Thankfully he went back to his normal self after a few days of staying in the hospital with her. Although, whenever the Headmaster's name came up in conversation he tended to get angry again. Dumbledore let out a few chuckles at her statement.

"Very well Miss Black, I think that is fair. Now hurry off before you miss breakfast," he said still chuckling.

"Right!" She left through the door to the Dumbledore's office and skipped down the stairs two at a time. While she was overjoyed about coming back to school, most of her was more nervous than anything. Unfortunately the whole being possessed incident had resulted in her making zero friends so far at Hogwarts, and she imagined being known as the possessed girl probably would not help her make any this time around either.

The castle was crowded and busy, just like it was on most weekends. Students were gathered in packs all around and already she could hear murmurs and whispers from them as she passed them. She let their words bounce off her skin though and just continued onwards with a positive attitude. Later she would maybe get upset at being whispered about behind her back, today though she was only being happy.

The walk to the Great Hall from the Dumbledore's office was thankfully a short one and she arrived into the large room in no time. Thank Merlin too because she was starving! Hospital food sucked and she had been craving Hogwart's breakfast biscuits like crazy! It felt like years since she had been in the Great Hall and just like during her first day at Hogwarts, for a few brief moments she was awe struck at the magic and beauty of the room.

 _Man I missed being here._ She thought to herself as she took in the majesty of the Hall.

"Alina!" she heard someone call out her name. She turned her head from the candles floating midair overhead to try and find the person who had called her. "Alina over here!" the voice called out again.

She turned her head over to the Ravenclaw table and saw Hermione and Harry waving her to come over. Startled briefly at seeing them, she made her way over to to where they were sitting. It was hard not to notice all the eyes in the Hall fixated on her as she walked across the Hall. To her surprise when she made it over to the part of the table where Hermione and Harry were sitting she was met by a warm hug from Hermione, followed by one from Harry too.

"It's so good to see you Alina, did you just get back? Here sit, sit,Hermione started asking her as they all sat down on the bench. It took her a few seconds to get her thoughts straight, she was still a little caught off guard by their reaction at seeing her.

"Yeah, I just got back a few minutes ago actually," she answered Hermione, still a little off guard.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked her, handing her a basket of bread in the process. She took a large piece out and immediately began drowning it in the nearby butter dish.

 _God I missed these so much!_ She thought to herself, practically drooling.

"Much better since the last time you guys were at St. Mungos. My doctor said I should have regenerated all my magic back in a week tops. And all my symptoms for magic deficiency disease have been clear for three days now."

Harry and Hermione had visited her a few times during her long stay at the hospital. She figured they had just stopped by each time they came to visit Marik but she was happy they did, even if was just out of obligation because she and Harry were family. It felt good having someone besides her mom and dad to talk to. She loved her dad, but after a few days being stuck in a small room and making endless small talk that would drive anyone mental.

During one of their few visits to her room, Hermione and Harry had been the ones to tell her what they knew of what all happened that day in the Chamber. Many of the gaps in her memory had come back to her as she recovered in the hospital, her memories of her time in the Chamber of Secrets though was not one of these gaps that got filled though.

She had been amazed and cried uncontrollably for hours when she learned from Hermione that Marik had also been left behind at the school the day everyone was evacuated. She could only imagine how horrible Harry and Hermione must have felt as they left Hogwarts on the Express, knowing that they were leaving Marik behind.

She had also been extremely surprised when she learned what Daphne, Hermione, and Harry had gone through for her. Well Daphne for her, Harry and Hermione were mainly going for Marik, but still. She would never in a million years have imagined that her sister would sneak out of their house and break into the freaking Ministry of Magic to come look for her. She had felt guilty they had risked so much because of her, and that Marik was in all this pain because of her, but in the end she couldn't help but feel a little happy for it all. After all, if they had not gone through it all she would not be here today.

It was hard for her to believe the parts of the story Harry and Hermione told her about all that Marik had done to find her. Marik had risked his life over and over again for _her_ ; someone he didn't even know. Marik had trekked into the forbidden forest at night all on his own to look for her. He literally walked into a nest of thousands of spiders the sizes of muggle cars and not only did he manage to somehow not die, but he also inconceivably found a way to convince the spiders to help him find her.

If riding in on the backs of spiders, going in the forbidden forest alone, and saving her wasn't enough Marik had even defeated a freaking basilisk in the Chamber. Inside the Chamber, Hermione and Harry's story of what Marik had done for her only made the entire story even harder to imagine. Although they had arrived to the Chamber at the end of everything, from how they described it Marik had apparently been casting or experiencing some pretty incredible magic when they arrived.

As crazy and unbelievable as all of this sounded the hardest part to believe was that Marik had done all of this and gone through such lengths all for _her._ Although she had gaps of everything he had done for her in the Chamber her memory was still clear as day of the time they had spent together by the lake. She had stunned Marik at point blank range with a _stupefy_ spell and as a result had risked getting him hurt worse by being the reason he missed the Express.

She had given him literally every reason any normal person would need to turn and walk the other way. She yelled at him, attacked him, and lied to him. Apparently for some unknown reason though none of that mattered to him though. Even with every reason not to, he still came for her, like some hero out of a fairy tale. He was a hero. . . He was her hero.

She had snuck out of her room a few times during her stay at St. Mungos to go to Marik's room to thank him for everything. She never did get the chance to speak with him though as each time she tried he was either asleep, being worked on, or his parents were in the room. Harry and Hermione had gotten the opportunity to talk with him once over the break from what they told her.

Marik's memory of the Chamber was apparently pretty hazy. Hermione and Harry told her that they had tried to piece together parts of the puzzle of what happened before they arrived with him but didn't really make any progress. All he could remember was seeing her, talking with tom, and killing the basilisk. Everything after that was blank, almost as if it never even happened. She knew something had happened though, and regardless of whether anyone remembered or saw it or not she would forever be thankful to Marik. Whatever happened and whatever he did, he saved her life.

"That's great! Although I must say I think I liked you better when you were pale, It made me actually look tan for once," Hermione joked, bringing Alina out of her memories and thoughts. She couldn't help the giggles that came out in response to Hermione's joke. It was true, she was much darker than Hermione was.

"You excited to be back?" Harry asked her, still rolling his eyes at Hermione's bad joke.

"Yup, I am very excited. My mom wanted to let me come a few days earlier because she was getting tired of me talking about coming back so much. I'm a little nervous about being back though, I feel like I missed so much time and am going to be so far behind everyone," she answered Harry through bites of bread.

"You will be fine I'm sure." Hermione said, trying his best to comfort her.

"I think you are screwed!" someone said from behind them. They all turned to see it was her sister.

"Daphne!" She jumped up from the bench and rushed to give her sister a hug. Her sister brushed her off though after a few seconds. She guessed the sweet Daphne that had been nice to her at the hospital over the break was gone now, and the _ice-queen,_ as Marik called her, was back. Her smile grew a little as she thought back to how hard she had laughed the first time she had heard her sister called that.

"Did you just get here?" her sister asked her.

"Yup, a few minutes ago," she answered returning to her bread. This food tasted like heaven compared to hospital food.

"Welcome back. Here." Daphne started searching through her bag.

"Did you get me a welcome back present?" she asked her sister, knowing her well enough to know that hell had not yet frozen over.

"Yup. Here is your present." Her sister took out a stack of papers about three feet thick along with five different books. "Your professors gave me all of the work you missed while you were gone, assignments you never turned in, and review work to help you catch up. And Snape wants you to read these extra books outside of everything else to prove to him that you are worthy of still staying in his class." Daphne dumped everything in her hands on the table. Alina felt her heart sink.

"Good luck." Daphne attempted to make a smile as she turned towards the Slytherin table. Alina looked at the huge pile of work now on the table in front of her and instinctively her body slumped over head first onto the table.

"I'm screwed. Hermione, Harry it was a pleasure knowing you," she said to the two of them from her spot, face down on the table.

"Wow I see how it is! Guess it wasn't a pleasure knowing me?" another voice said from behind them. She slowly lifted her forehead off the table and again turned to find out who it was, dreading it may be someone with more work to give her. It certainly was not.

"Marik!" she shouted out into the Hall. She knocked over her drink and the butter bowl as she jumped up from the table and rushed to give him a hug, knocking him a few steps back with the sheer ferocity of her hug.

"Mpfff," was all she heard him say in return as she pressed herself against him, not wanting to ever let go and hoping her hug would help to express her endless thanks.

"Alright alright!" Marik finally said after a few moments and finessed his way out of her arms. She pouted for a second and then quickly blushed when she saw how many people in the Hall were looking at her. Hermione and Harry both got up from their spots on the table to give him a hug.

"Welcome back Marik," Harry said, a large smile on his face as Marik took the seat next to him.

"Did you miss me?" Marik asked the table as he reached for the bread bowl and started drowning his piece in butter. Her smile grew even bigger.

"What was your name again?" Hermione joked from the other side of the table. Hermione's joke earned a laugh from Harry and herself and a devilish sneer from Marik.

"So rumor has it that some crazy girl tried to take over the school. I hear her goal was to take out Dumbledore and make _Snape_ the new Headmaster. I even heard that she had a secret Chamber that she used to torture kids in her house that snored too loud," Marik joked, looking at her as he made light of things. She stuck out her tongue out at him in response to his lame joke.

"Haha not funny! Don't make me call my giant-snake out on you again Ose!" she joked back. Marik did a spit-take with the orange juice he was drinking.

"Too soon!" Harry said, laughing.

"Seriously though Marik, It is good to see you back where you belong again," Hermione said to her friend, putting an end to the joking.

"Thanks 'Mione," Marik replied, he had his normal smirk back on his face now. She had not seen that look in a while. It really was a cute smirk. "So they finally let you out too huh?" Marik asked her, grabbing another piece of bread in the process.

"Yeah, this morning. I didn't know you were getting released already too," she answered. Last she had heard Marik still had at least another two weeks before he was supposed to get released.

"Well the doc wanted to keep me for a few more weeks but I managed to plan an early escape," Marik answered, sneering proudly.

"MARIK OSE! You did what?" Hermione said in a voice that honestly Alina thought even rivaled McGonagall's.

"Relax, I didn't do anything bad. I just sent an owl to Kingsley saying after spending so much time in the hospital I was thinking about dropping our private lessons and putting more time into learning herbology. Within minutes he came storming into the hospital shouting _you will not waste all of my hard work and efforts_ and made the doctors let me loose," Marik said in his best Kingsley impression. It was quite a bad impression. He looked proud as he told his story though and she couldn't help but laugh at it.

"Only you," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Well are you really doing okay?" Hermione asked. Her look made it seem that she was not happy that he had left the hospital wing early.

"I'm getting there yeah. No spasms in three weeks. I still have to use this though for another week or two." Marik lifted up a cane from under the table that she had not noticed before. She felt bad for hugging him so hard now. "But other than that I feel fine. Since they had no clue what was going on they obviously wanted me to stay longer but Kingsley said he would keep a close eye on me and make reports on my progress to them."

While she had certainly had it bad during her stay at the hospital Marik had things a hundred times worse during his. The spasms he kept having ended up killing a lot of Marik's body's nerves. As a result of the nerve damage he had lost a lot of muscle strength. If that wasn't bad enough his magic for the first two weeks of his time at St. Mungos had been unable to replenish itself.

Every time his magic started to regenerate it released itself out of his body during a spasm. The same thing happened every time they tried to give him potions. His body just rejected them and released all of their magic in another spasm. That meant that Marik had to go through the healing process with practically no magic, and a lot of the pain killers since they required magic, all of this meaning his healing process had most likely been hell.

Standing before her now though she thought he certainly did look a lot skin had returned to it's normal tan color and all of the black splotches on his skin had vanished. The only real visible scar that Marik had was his eyes.

Again, while there were many parts of her memories that were gone the night the two of them had spent by the lake was one of the few things she remembered vividly. She remembered at the time watching his silvery-grey eyes reflecting off the water and how easy to look at they were. They were certainly still easy to look into but their color had changed from the way she remembered.

The grey color in them had been almost bleached and now they were closer to a white looking grey than their old darker grey. His iris had also absorbed a lot of the black splotches it seemed as all around them Marik now had black lines and marks scattered throughout the white-grey. Different looking or not, she still loved his eyes.

"Any new news?" Harry asked his friend, breaking her daydreaming.

"Nope, they still have no clue and I still have no clue," Marik answered stuffing another piece of bread into his mouth. "But I for one am okay with not knowing. I just want to get back to the old stuff. God this bread is so much better than hospital food!" Marik continued. She giggled at the last part.

"I agree," Hermione added.

"What is all this stuff?" Marik asked, looking through all the papers Daphne had dropped on the table. For a few minutes she had forgotten that she was screwed. Her head again returned to the table as the feeling of unavoidable doom returned.

"All of the work I missed and have to do. I'm so screwed," she said, pouting again.

"No you're not. I'll help you catch up," Marik said, smiling at her from the other side of the table.

"YOU WILL?" She couldn't help that it came out as a scream as she lifted her head up.

"Of course I will. So will Harry and Hermione. We aren't just going to let our possessed friend fall behind. The school would get so boring if you failed out." Marik tried making a joke but she was closer to tears than she was laughing. _He had called her his friend. . ._

"You guys. . ." She was practically speechless.

"Marik I think you broke her," Hermione said, staring at her looking worried.

"You okay Alina?" Marik was waving his hand in front of her face.

"Yeah I am, it's just you said you wouldn't let your _friend_ get behind. . ." She didn't know how to explain what she was feeling.

"Yeah. . ." Marik looked confused now. Not knowing what to say she just leaned over the table and wrapped the three of them in a hug.

"Oi Ow!" Marik shouted as she pulled him into a hug along with her other two new _friends_. That sounded so weird saying. Friends. . . _Her,_ the possessed first year girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets had friends. She held them all in a hug for a few moments before finally letting go. That moment would go down as one of the best moments of her life.

"Alright alright! Enough with the ooey gooey stuff! Here let's get started on your first lesson." Marik pulled out his wand and conjured a pair of large obnoxious glasses onto his face. He pushed the glasses that looked like they were made for a face the size of a troll up his nose as he grabbed a paper of her stack. She couldn't stop giggling at the funny sight. He looked so goofy!

"Lesson one: How to avoid being possessed by a crazy dead dark lord. Step one: Don't be lame and write in a diary," Marik said in his best Snape impression.

"Hey you brat! I write in a diary!" Hermione shouted out, throwing a muffin at Marik in the process.

"Well that explains the possessed demon-like personality. . ." Harry joked, from the other side of the table also earning himself a muffin to the face.

After a few seconds all of them erupted into laughter. Her sides started hurting after a while from how hard she was laughing. She could see through her tears of laughter that students all around the Hall were looking at them like they were crazy. She didn't care though. This was one of the best moments of her life. She was laughing, and she was happy, and best of all, she was with her friends.

* * *

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	24. Book2: Chapter 13

**Hermione**

"Where is Marik?" she asked, punching Harry in the arm.

"I swear I'm having deja vu. . ." Harry replied while rubbing the new bruise on his arm.

"Would you two calm down I am right here! Like I would ever miss this," Marik announced as he made his way over to the section of the stands they were sitting in. She saw he had his usual smirk on his face as he sat down.

"Yeah, where I have heard that before?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Teehee, sorry about that," Alina said with her usual smile as she arrived with Marik and sat down beside him.

"Where were you guys this morning? You made me eat breakfast alone with this nervous devil," Harry asked Marik and Alina. His comment earned him another punch to the shoulder.

"Ow!" Harry complained.

"I am not nervous!" she argued.

"Notice how she didn't argue the devil part," Harry joked, still rubbing his arm.

"Marik and me did a few last minute training sessions," Alina said, looking accomplished.

"You both did more training without me?" she said, a little upset at them.

"Oh would you stop it. You had plenty of training sessions, you will do fine. Harry doesn't stand a chance this year." Marik tried to calm her down, but his joke didn't help much.

"I appreciate that Marik," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh Harry you will do fine too. Although I bet my sister is going to make it tough for you both this year. She was pissed last year," Alina added. Right on cue the ice-queen made her entrance into the Great Hall. She looked extra _icy_ today. Aline was probably right and Hermione doubted that Daphne would go down as easy this year.

"Are you nervous at all Alina?" Harry asked her.

"Nahh with all the help you guys gave me I really think I can win this thing!" Alina replied, looking confident. Her cocky, confident grin looked a lot like Marik's usual smirk.

Hermione would not be surprised if Alina ended up winning the first year tournament, even though she had only seen a few of the first years actually perform magic. Since Alina and them had all become friends and started working together Alina had proven herself to be quite the talented witch. Hermione would even go as far as to say that Alina might even be a little bit better than even Daphne had been in her first year around this time.

Marik had pretty much taken Alina under his wing since they both returned to school over two months ago, and the two of them were practically inseparable ever since. Since then Alina had joined them in their room in the dungeons whenever she was free and they all had started helping her catch up. She never expected that she would end up becoming friends with Daphne's little sister and when Marik started bringing her to their study sessions she had expected things to be awkward. However Alina had instantly fit in perfectly with their group and after a few minutes it had already felt like the four of them had been friends for years.

The night after Alina and Marik had both returned to the school Dumbledore announced that the dueling tournament was being rescheduled and would be taking place in the second week of March. Apparently the Durmstrang tournament had to be rescheduled as well so the ministry was still allowing the tournament to take place. Since the announcement the four of them had sacrificed a lot of sleep to help Alina catch up in her classes, train for the tournament, and work on their end of year projects, along with doing all of their own training and work.

Marik had missed two week of classes while he was in the hospital too so he was also a little bit behind in his work. He had caught back up with his work with a little help from them quick enough but due to all of his injuries and magic deficiency issues it had taken him a good month before he was back to his old self magic wise. Luckily for her, Harry, and Alina, Kingsley and Flitwick had canceled some of their training sessions with Marik until he was better so for during his first month back Marik had a lot of free time to help them all train and study.

Hermione had already felt confident going into the tournament the first time around that she could win. But now with all the extra time and training she had done with her friends she was even more confident that she could win. This year that top spot was hers, and not even Harry would beat her!

"You better win. I didn't spend all my time helping you train for you to lose!" Marik joked to Alina, and he got a punch on the arm from Alina. See, Alina fits right in.

"Actually I'm not really in the mood to duel. I do have a really strange urge to go open a Chamber right now though. . ." Alina tried to say without cracking a smile. She failed miserably.

"Still too soon Alina!" Harry laughed.

"So Alina, who do you think is the toughest competition in your year?" she asked Alina.

"Well you guys saw Ginny duel in the first tournament and I still think she is one of the best first years. Luna has gotten a lot better too though so I really don't know," Alina answered.

There had only been one duel last time before the tournament had been canceled and it had been between both of the first years Alina mentioned. That duel had proven to be a good one, and if Alina said they were two of the best first years that came as no surprise to her.

"You guy's got any last minute advice for me since I'll be up first?" Alina asked them.

"Stay away from the glass. It hurts," Harry joked, rubbing his arms where the scars had been. They all laughed at his joke.

"Watch out for _tarantallegra._ It makes losing even more embarrassing," she replied, feeling a tinge bit angry at remembering how she lost to Harry last year.

"Duel with your guts first, your head second, and your wand third. Just like we practiced," Marik answered last. He sounded like a coach giving his boxer advice in the corner of the ring. It was cute the way he looked out for Alina.

The Headmaster made his way up to the podium at the center of the stage after the last few students sat down in the stands. He gave them the usual speech about the tournament, how it worked, and how it played a part in their grades before the first year bracket started appearing over head. In her head she crossed her fingers that this time the tournament actually finished without any interruptions.

"The first duel will be between. . . Colin Creevy and James Hartly!" Dumbledore announced the two names and two boys in Gryffindor robes made their way up to the dueling platform.

"Okay, so what's the scoop?" Harry whispered to Alina.

"There both Gryffindors as you can tell. Colin Is smart but has the casting abilities of a toaster from what I have heard. And I have never heard of James so that probably says something too." Alina answered as she was looked intently at the dueling platform.

"Pay attention to their movement while casting. . ." Marik started whispering tips for Alina. She just nodded her head along to what he was saying. The two boys raised their wands after they bowed and returned to their sides of the platform.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore counted them down and started the tournament off.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ The boy named Colin started the duel off first with the disarming spell.

" _Porteco!"_ The other boy named James tried to throw up what looked like a shield spell based off his wand movements, but the incantation sounded way off. Apparently the spell incantation was in fact way off as the Colin boys disarming spell hit James and sent him flying back off the stage onto the hard floor of the Great Hall.

"Well that sucked," Marik said, looking disappointed

"How do you not know the incantation for a shield spell by March your first year?" She asked her friends, looking bewildered.

"Told you," Alina announced.

"Well I guess it can't get any worse from here. . ." Harry added.

Harry it turned out was a wrong, very wrong. A lot of the first year duels were unfortunately about the same. Apparently Alina's year was not one of Hogwart's best bunch of students. Maybe she was remembering wrong but she remembered their first year tournament being a lot more intense than this one had been so far. She was probably just being a little harsh about it all though.

"Alina Black and Marcus Monte please come to the stage for your duel," Dumbledore announced the next two names, finally calling out Alina's name. She turned to look at Alina and was happy to see that she looked confident.

"Good luck Alina," they all said wishing her luck. If Alina's opponent was as skilled as the other first year's they had seen so far, this would be a walk in the park for Alina.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore announced and the duel was off. Alina immediately started to charge full sprint at her opponent.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Alina's opponent shot out the disarming spell. Alina easily dodged it with a sidestep to her left.

" _Accio_ Marcus!" Alina shouted her spell out and the result was. . . well. . . scary.

The small boy's body was summoned through the air towards Alina who instead of hitting him with another spell or grabbing his wand, charged further towards him and with all her momentum punched the boy square in the face. With a loud crack followed by a thud the boy landed on the platform completely knocked out cold.

Alina with a cute curtsey to the stands simply bent over and picked up the boy's wand, ending the duel just like that. After a few moments of stunned silence the stands cheered. Even from their spot in the stands she could hear the Weasley twins choking on laughter from the other side of the Hall.

"Holy hell Alina. That was a little mean don't you think?" Harry asked his cousin, looking slightly scared as she sat back down by them. Marik was laughing uncontrollably from his spot in the stands and had fallen out of his seat.

"An _accio_ spell can only be used to summon a person if they are weak minded and unprepared. If it worked on him than he deserved it!" Alina answered looking proud. She was right. That was one of the first lessons you learned as a first year.

"Good job Alina. It was smart. Now your opponents will be afraid of you moving forward, it was a good way to make a statement. . . And scare the hell out of everyone," she said to Alina, giving her credit for her choice in strategy. Alina beamed a large smile at the compliment.

"Was it a little too much?" Alina asked her in a whispered voice. Hermione couldn't help but giggle at the question. Alina was the type of person to beat you to a pulp with her magic and then apologize after each spell hit you.

"Maybe a little. But I'm happy things finally got interesting. So thanks for the show!" she answered. The rest of the first round ended quickly without too much excitement. As Alina had said the only other people that stood out in the first years were Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. Both of the girls had each won their duels about as quick as Alina had and Ginny had even sent her opponent off to the hospital wing with a powerful stunner to end the first round of dueling.

"Ginny Weasley will go up against. . . Alina Black!" The stands erupted in cheers as everyone was ready for finally a good matchup.

"Good luck Alina." her and Harry said in unison.

"Remember to watch her movement," Marik added as Alina got up from the stands.

Both of the girl's faces were stone cold serious as they made their way up to the platform. Ginny may have the skin and hair color of a Weasley but so far she had proved that she certainly didn't duel like one. This match would certainly be a tougher one for Alina than her first duel had been. The two girls met at the center of the platform, bowed and then returned to their sides. They both raised their wands as Dumbledore started counting them down.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore announced the start of the duel.

" _Locomotor mortis, expelliarmus!"_ Ginny fired off the leg locking and disarming spell and immediately started charging forward.

" _Erecto, expulso, deprimo!"_ Alina fired back a powerful spell combo at the red head. As a result of Alina's _erecto_ spell parts of the platform in front of Ginny shot up like pillars. Alina then exploded each one of the pillars with her _expulso_ spell and sent all of the debris flying towards Ginny with her wind spell. It was a good combo that they all had used a bunch in training.

" _Flipendo, tarantallegra!"_ Ginny fired off two of her own spells back in return. Her first spell sent all of the oncoming debris back towards Alina, along with her jinx that if it collided with Alina would cause her to dance uncontrollably. Good thing Hermione had warned Alina to watch out for that spell.

" _Protego! Mobiliarbus_!" Alina threw up a shield quickly and sent the incoming debris that she had made and Ginny had sent back at her towards the ceiling. Ginny continued charging as this happened.

" _Expelliar. . ."_ Ginny started to fire off the disarming spell.

" _Finite incantatum, stupefy."_ Alina's first spell stopped Ginny from casting the disarming spell before Ginny was able to recover and cast another spell. There was no time for Ginny to react or dodge at the short distance they were to each other and Alina's stunner hit Ginny square in the chest. Ginny's body flew across the stage and landed with a thud. Alina was victorious!

"Way to go Alina!" Marik started the cheers and the rest of them, along with the stands, followed shortly after. In a flash Alina's face went from serious to a huge smile as she made her way off the stage and back to her seat. She was welcomed with hugs and smiles all around, as they congratulated her on her victory.

"Told you that you could beat her," Marik said, smirking from his seat.

"I know, you are _always_ right Marik," Alina said sarcastically.

"Please don't ever say that again," Hermione responded, earning a roll of the eyes from Marik.

"One more to go and you are the champ," Harry added.

"I wonder who it will be." Alina looked up to the bracket as the next two names were filled out.

The next duel was between Luna Lovegood, who Dumbledore had allowed to participate again even though she technically had been beaten during the last tournament, versus Dominey Kibbins, who was a small Hufflepuff girl. The duel started off looking promising but in a few quick seconds Luna had managed to stun Dominey with a weird rainbow colored spell that Hermione had never heard of before. That meant it was Alina versus Luna in the finals. Both of their names filled out the last two spots on the bracket.

"Your time to shine," Marik said, pushing Alina out of her seat as her name formed. Alina looked a little nervous as she stood up.

"You can do this Alina!" she said, trying to comfort her friend.

"Good luck cuz." Harry added.

"Thanks everyone. Here goes nothing," Alina said under her breath as she headed to the stage. If she really had been nervous she certainly did a good job of changing her face to look confident. Luna looked like her mind was lost in a deep thought on her side of the platform. Alina looked ready for war on hers. Both of the girls raised their wands ready to go.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore started the duel.

" _Orchideous, oppungo!"_ Alina started the duel by firing off two. . . well, two odd spells to use in a duel. Luna was apparently caught off guard by the spell selections as well. The first spell conjured flowers all over the platform. The were really quite pretty. However, the flowers became quickly less pretty as Alina, with her second spell, made the newly conjured flowers began closing in on Luna to attack her.

" _Tarantallegra, expelliarmus!"_ Luna fired off two spells back in return. Luna aimed her first spell at the ground and all of the flowers stopped their advance on her and instead began to dance uncontrollably on the platform. Her second disarming spell headed right at Alina. This was a weird duel to say the least.

" _Protego, petrificus totalus, stupefy!"_ Alina returned fire by throwing up a shield to block Luna's disarming spell and sent two powerful spells back. Luna was able to dodge the first spell but Alina's _stupefy_ was a direct hit. Luna was knocked out by the spell meaning Alina had won the first year tournament.

The stands immediately erupted into a standing ovation for her, and the Hufflepuff section all started chanting _Alina_ in response to their housemate winning. Around her both Harry and Marik were clapping loudly for their friend who was beaming on the platform with a large smile. Alina turned and bowed to each section of the stands drawing more applause before she returned back to her seat.

"Congratulations!" Marik was the first to meet Alina with a large hug. Hermione noted Marik tried to let go a little early but Alina extended the hug at least an extra five seconds. After she finally let go of Marik Alina received two more congratulatory hugs from both her and Harry.

"What was with that strategy though Alina?" Harry asked after the applause had died down and they had all been seated.

"I fought weird with weird," Alina answered proudly.

"Weird with weird?" she asked confused.

"Luna is weird with her strategies! She enlarged two peoples teeth, made another one dance, and randomly conjured an umbrella in one duel. So I tried to catch her off guard early by using a weird spell combo of my own," Alina explained. Marik looked like a proud parent, nodding his head behind her.

"That's actually pretty smart," she admitted.

"Thank you Hermione!" Alina answered. Alina was almost bouncing in her seat with her excitement at winning the first year tournament.

"Alright now, before your tournament begins I want to make it known that I am rooting for the both of you equally and I am not picking sides!" Alina said to her and Harry as she wrapped her arms around them both.

"But I am your cousin!" Harry tried to argue.

"And Daphne is my sister but I sure as hell don't want her to win more than I want you guys to win!" Alina argued. Harry could only nod in agreement at her point.

"Yeah, Me too. But good luck Hermione," Marik joked. Harry just glared at his friend. "I'm joking Harry! We all know you are going to win!" He quickly found himself rubbing both of his shoulders as she connected with his left and Alina found his right. "Oww!" Marik cried out.

Dumbledore congratulated Alina on her victory and went over a few more rules for the second year's tournament before the bracket started forming overhead again. She crossed her fingers that she was not first.

"The first second year duel will be between Daphne Black and. . ." Everyone in their group perked up and leaned forward at the announcement of Daphne's name. "Cho Chang!" she sighed in relief that she was not one of the first names called.

Both Cho and Daphne had proven themselves to be good duelists last year. She new Daphne had been ranked fourth in their year and Cho had been ranked fifth. From what Alina told them about Daphne they knew she had been working her ass off all year to do better in this years tournament. Hermione knew enough about Cho from sharing all their classes together to know that Cho had not been slouching on her studies either. This was sure going to be a good duel to start things off.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore started the duel.

" _Aeriacta, stupefy!"_ Cho fired off two high powered spells at Daphne who was already moving on her side.

" _Azuflamen, protego totalum!"_ Daphne retaliated with another high powered spell along with an area-protection shield.

Both of their spells collided in the center of the stage and exploded with a huge release of magic throughout the Hall. As far as Hermione knew Cho's _aeriacta_ spell was a type of wind spell that used air as a sort of explosion, or something like that. Daphne's spell on the other hand was one that Marik had shown them from one of his sessions with Flitwick.

The spell was a high powered elemental blast spell, that had multiple variations. Daphne had chosen to use a water blast version of it. After the dust and rubble from the explosion settled she could see that Daphne's shield had protected her from both of Cho's spells and Cho seemed to be alright as well. Now however the platform was covered in water from Daphne's spell, which meant moving around would be much harder.

" _Incarcerous!"_ Cho cast the rope binding spell, the spell which Marik had used to beat Daphne easily with last year with. Bad move on Cho's part. Daphne was more than used to that spell by now.

" _Displodo, azuflamen, stupefy!"_ Daphne countered with another high powered spell combo, one that must have taken a lot of her magic to use. The end result though was worth it though for Daphne. Her _displodo_ burst magic spell disintegrated the ropes flying at her and Cho was not able to defend against the next two high powered spells Daphne had sent Cho's way. With only half a shield up in a huge burst of magic Cho was knocked unconscious and lost the duel.

"Damn. . ." Alina said, breaking the silence between them as the rest of the Hall cheered for Daphne.

"So I guess Daphne was mad about losing," Harry added.

"I would say so," Hermione responded. Daphne had put on quite the power show. Both her and Cho had gone with the strategy to overpower their opponent with sheer force and Daphne had proven that she was the more powerful between the two. It would be hard to match the power of spells like that consistently in a duel, let alone still have enough energy to defend with. Daphne would be a tough win this year it certainly appeared.

"Well good luck guys," Marik said with a sneer as Daphne got off the stage. All three of them glared angrily at him. The next two names formed on the bracket.

"Harry Potter and. . ." She looked over at Harry and put her arm on his shoulder. He turned to her and smiled at the sign of support. "Will face Hermione Granger." She took her hand off his shoulder.

"Well good luck Hermione." Harry extended his hand towards her as he stood up. She was going against Harry for her first duel! She had known that they might have to duel at some point but she figured it would be the finals or something, not the first duel. She had not even had time to warm up yet.

"Yeah. . . You too Harry." She took his hand and pulled herself up. They turned from each other and she started off towards her side of the platform. She heard Marik and Alina wish them both luck as they left but she was too focused on the task at hand to acknowledge them. This was not going to be a walk in the park. This was going to be a true battle.

Ever since last year's tournament they had all practiced and trained together more times than she could count. Ever since they had returned to the school after it reopened they had both intensified their training twofold. Harry had been a man on a mission to improve this year and she had been so mad that she lost last year that she had worked as hard as possible to make sure that it did not happen again this year. Harry had been the one to beat her last year, she did not want a repeat of that.

When it came to practice duels she had mainly dueled with Alina and Marik. Her and Harry had a rivalry between them when it came to this tournament so they kept the dueling to other opponents so they didn't spoil all of their tricks. While she had seen Harry perform magic basically everyday she was sure he still had some new tricks up his sleeves. So did she though.

They both made their way to the center of the stage, bowed, winked, and then headed back to their spots on the platform. Harry on the other side of the platform did not have his usual friendly smile on, but instead wore a look that meant business. She did her best to focus more and match his look.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore announced the start of the duel.

" _Animorph!"_ she heard Harry on the other side of the platform get a quick spell off. Immediately his feet turned to their _animagus_ mountain lion form. She had seen him do that spell countless times and knew that would mean he would be able to move across the platform quicker now.

" _Aisuterra, expelliarmus."_ She quickly started the duel with two spells. The _expelliarmus_ spell was mainly just to keep Harry busy on his side of the platform. She used the ice-make spell to cover Harry's side of the platform in a slippery sheet of ice. Hopefully that would slow some him down a little, even with his transfigured feet.

" _Transmorgo, incendio!"_ Harry stopped moving to keep his balance on the ice and aimed his first spell at her disarming spell. The spells collided at about the same time as his fire spell melted the ice on the platform. So much for that idea. When Harry's _transmorgo_ spell hit her _expelliarmus_ spell Harry caused the spell to explode into a wall of black smoke, blocking any sight she had of him. She prepared herself for an attack from Harry.

" _Gemino, protego totalum!"_ She had to bring out some of her big guns earlier than she had wanted to but who knows what Harry was doing on the other side of that smoke. Five thought projections of herself appeared around her. All of them were in the area of her shield, although that didn't really matter since they would disappear when Harry hit them anyways. She sent one of them to the middle of the platform right in front of the smoke to hopefully draw Harry's attention.

" _Stupefy!"_ Harry shouted as he quickly burst out of the smoke on her side of the platform with an extra boost thanks to his transfigured feet. The spell collided with her thought projection up front just as she had planned. She took advantage of the caught off guard Harry.

" _Gravitas, expelliarmus!"_ She fired off two spells at the shocked looking Harry, who was now looking at five Hermione's standing in front of him instead of just one. She aimed both her spells right at Harry's feet.

" _Protego!"_ Harry reacted quickly and threw up a shield. Fortunately for Harry her _expelliarmus_ spell hit and disappeared on his shield. Unfortunately for him though he had not been quick enough to deflect her gravity spell. In the area right around Harry the gravity increased tenfold and Harry's entire body was forced to the ground. With the extreme increase in gravity it made it almost impossible to move. However he would still be able to cast spells so she would have to act quick.

" _Legilimens!"_ Harry cast a spell that she had never heard of. " _Over here_." She heard Harry whisper from behind her. But how? She could see that he was right in front of her. She turned around quickly ready to defend herself. However Harry was not there. " _Relashio, stupefy!"_ She heard Harry shout two spells from behind her again. She turned again this time to see him break from her gravity spell and send a stunner right at her. It seemed Harry had some dirty tricks up his sleeve too.

Luckily Harry had to guess which was the real Hermione, and even luckier for her he had chosen wrong with his stunner so that gave her more time to act. They were standing so close to each other now whatever spells they both cast would have to be countered quick.

" _Stupefy!"_ She started her attack.

" _Protego, expulso!"_ Harry threw up the shield and sent an explosion spell at her feet.

" _Subduco, incarcerous!"_ She used her first spell to steal Harry's _expulso_ and send it right back at him, followed by her ropes. She ordered one of the Hermiones to charge at him at the same time.

" _Finite incantatum, tempesta!"_ Harry stopped her incoming spells in midair where they disappeared and fired back a storm spell. Out of the tip of his wand a burst of magic that resembled a dark cloud with lightning came booming at her and removed one of her thought projections in the process.

" _Finimagus."_ She cast the first spell and ended Harry's storm before it got any closer. " _Expelliarmus, restituo, flipendo, stupefy!"_ She fired a spell combo off as quickly as she could using about the rest of the magic she had left up.

Her first spell was just a distraction. The odds of a simple disarming spell hitting Harry were pretty slim. Harry quickly rolled to his left and the spell missed him. Her second spell she had aimed a little bit away from Harry and it collided with the ground right behind him. Harry in return raised his wand ready to fire off a spell back at her but found that his spell did not work. _It worked!_ She thought to herself, her fingers crossing in her head.

The _restituo_ spell was one that she actually had only found recently. The spell was an area effect spell that would nullify a spellcaster's ability to use magic in that area. As soon as they moved outside the area they would be able to but luckily for her Harry was still currently in the circle. Her next two spells collided with Harry and sent him flying across the stage, thankfully not into the glass this time, where he landed on the floor of the Great Hall beaten. The stands erupted. She had beaten Harry!

She could not help the smile that washed over her face as she heard the stands cheering for her. She took it all in for a few moments before she realised that Harry was still unconscious on the other side of the stage. She quickly ran over to him and helped one of the professors bring him back.

"Bloody hell that was good Hermione. Thanks for missing the glass this time by the way." Harry looked up to her with a smile on his face. She imagined it must have been hard for him to put on a smile after losing.

"Thanks Harry. You were amazing too," She replied as Harry got to his feet and they both made their way back to their seats. Both of them were met with hugs and congratulations from their two other friends.

"So that's what your secret weapon was huh?" Harry raised his eyebrow as he asked her.

"What did you think?" she asked him.

"I almost shit my pants when I came out of the smoke and saw six Hermione's. Scariest thing I have ever seen," Harry answered.

"How the hell did you make me think you were behind me?" she asked curiously, wanting to know what magic he had performed.

"That would be part of one of my end of year projects! So you will have to wait until the end of the year for that answer." Harry grinned as he answered. He knew how much she hated not knowing something.

"That is not fair Harry!" she said pouting.

"I guess Harry is going to get to learn all of your secrets now though Hermione," Alina said from beside her.

"What do you mean?" she asked not sure what her friend meant.

"Well if you win the rest of this tournament this summer you have to duel Marik. Which means if you keep practice dueling with him he will know all your tricks. So you will have to start dueling with Harry again," Alina explained.

"Oh. . ." she said looking slightly panicked. "I never thought of that. . ." She looked over at Marik who was grinning.

"Don't get too worried yet Hermione, this tournament is still up for grabs. You did great but don't get carried away," Marik responded bringing her back to the moment.

Marik was right. Before she could worry about dueling in the next tournament she had to win this one. Looking up at the bracket board it looked like that meant she had to beat two more people before she would be crowned the champ. She calmed herself and tried to focus on getting back some of her magic. She had used a lot of it during her duel with Harry.

Luckily for her it seemed that luck was on her side today. Although luck better have been on her side for what it did to her the last time they tried to have this tournament. The next few duels each took a while so it gave her the chance to recuperate and rest before her next duel. When it was finally her turn in the semifinals she drew a duel against Padma Patil. Padma was one of the better students in their year when it came to classes but when it came to dueling Hermione proved that she had the edge by far.

In just three easy spells she had managed to stun Padma and claim her spot in the finals. Looking across the Great Hall she knew exactly who that meant she would be up against too. Sitting in all of her ice and royalty was Daphne glaring at her. She glared back unitimitated. If she could beat Harry she could beat Daphne.

"The final duel will be between Daphne Black and Hermione Granger!" Dumbledore announced their names. The crowd erupted and the seats cleared as everyone stood up anxious for the final duel.

"You ready?" Harry asked her, putting his hands around hers. She turned to look at him. Even when she could tell he was upset at losing he still had her back and cheered her on. He was a good friend. She squeezed his hand and nodded before letting go and turning towards the stage.

She heard Marik and Alina shouting words of encouragement at her as she walked to her spot but again as before she was in full focus. As Alina had said earlier, _here goes nothing_.

She and the ice-queen made their way to the center of the stage and both of them did a half attempt at a bow before returning to their spots. She tightened her grip on her wand ready to end this quick.

 _You can do this Hermione._ She heard Harry's voice say inside her head. She looked over to see him smiling. He gave her a quick wink, which she gave a smile and wink in return before she returned her gaze back to Daphne, knowing her friends were all with her by her side. There was no way she could lose this.

"One. . . Two. . . Three!" Dumbledore announced the start of the duel and they were off.

" _Gemino, protego totalum!"_ She cast her thought projection spell as soon as the duel started and threw up an area projection spell to defend herself along with her thought projections as she prepared to go on the offensive.

" _Azuflamen, rubyflamen!"_ Daphne screamed out her spells from the other side of the platform.

She recognized the first one from her duel with Cho earlier, but had never heard of the type of elemental blast Daphne chose for her second spell before. Two huge beams of magic came speeding towards Hermione. The first beam was a bright blue stream of glowing water and the second one was a raging red beam fire. Daphne had literally started this duel with a bang going all out on her first two spells. Not wanting to gamble on if her shield was strong enough to block both spells she acted.

" _Gravitas!"_ She cast the spell she had used during her duel with Harry on the ground a few feet in front of where she was standing. Daphne's two spells collided with her shield and then changed their direction towards the small circle of increased gravity on the platform where she had aimed her spell, softening their force and impact on her shield.

When they impacted with the platform at the spot of intense gravity both of Daphne's spell sent off a massive wave of flames and water breaking her gravity spell. Luckily her shield and thought projections took the brunt of the impact and she was left unscathed. She quickly checked how many thought projections she had left from all of that; it appeared only one. Hopefully that would be enough. She ordered the thought projection to charge at Daphne.

" _Erecto, expulso. . ."_ She started casting her spell chain combo.

" _Stupefy, locomotor mortis!"_ She heard Daphne cast two spells from the other side of the platform at the same time as her _erecto_ spell had erected at least ten pillars from the floor under the platform and her _expulso_ had impacted with a good number of the pillars. She continued her spell combo.

" _Corver, deprimo, protego!"_ She finished her spell chain and let out gasp of air at the strain the combo of spells took on her magic. As her combo headed towards Daphne she ordered her last thought projection to sacrifice itself on Daphne's _stupefy_ spell. Her combo was a costly one, and drained a lot of her magic, but hopefully it was worth it.

The exploded rubble and rocks that shot into the air when she exploded the pillars were turned into to around fifty large crows with her _corver_ spell. She had then used the wind spell to give all of the crows an airstream that they could use to fly and quickly attack Daphne.

" _Impedimenta, incendio!"_ Daphne cast two more spells to counter the incoming spells just as Daphne's _locomotor mortis_ spell collided with her shield. Whether or not Daphne's defense would be good enough to stop and block fifty high speed crows she did not know, but regardless the fact that Daphne had to defend against them gave her time to act.

" _Speculum, stupefy!"_ She cast two more high powered spells, draining a lot more magic than she would have liked. Her body felt like it was almost fully drained at this point.

Daphne's defense did end up being strong enough to withstand her crow attack. Her _impedimenta_ spell had slowed all the birds down to a snail's pace and they had been so grouped together that her _incendio_ spell had eliminated them all back to rock and rubble in one blow. As soon as Daphne had dealt with the birds she turned and readied herself for the oncoming s _tupefy_ spell Hermione had just cast. Daphne never saw it coming though and Hermione watched on as Daphne's face turned to one of confusion.

Hermione's _speculum_ spell had created two mirrors on the platform. One mirror had been placed over Daphne's head. The second one had been placed right in front of where Hermione was standing. When Daphne turned to look for Hermione and her spell all she saw was a reflection of herself.

Hermione had sent her _stupefy_ through one of the mirrors and out the other. It was a trick that she owed credit to Marik for teaching her. He had learned it in one of his lessons with Flitwick and had taught it to her only two weeks before. Her _stupefy_ spell traveled through the first mirror and came out of its sister mirror over Daphne's head where it collided with the back of confused ice-queen. The power behind the spell had not been one of her best but it looked to be just enough as Daphne dropped to the platform, beaten, and unconscious. She had done it. . . She won!

Without thinking acting on instincts she turned on the stage and bolted to the spot in the stands where her friends were.

"I did it! I won!" she shouted in excitement when she made it to her friends, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"Congratulations Hermione! I'm so proud of you!" Harry said as he engulfed he in a tight bear hug, swinging her around in a circle at the same time.

"Way to go 'Mione, you kicked ass up there," Marik said, giving her another warm hug as soon as Harry released her.

"Sorry for knocking your sister out Alina," she apologized halfheartedly to Alina, who she knew couldn't care less about it.

"Are you kidding me! That was freaking awesome Hermione!"Alina said with a bright smile as she followed her friends lead and gave her a hug.

"Thank you guys. Thank you all so much!" she said, thanking her friends who were the absolute best friends in the world. "So how did I do?" she asked them, only just now realising that all of the stands were still on their feet applauding her. She couldn't help the blushing in her cheeks the more she took it in.

"Amazing," Harry answered her first, and gave her another one arm hug as they all sat down.

"Meh. I've seen Filch do better," Marik joked from his seat behind her. Even as drained and tired as she was now she still had enough energy left to hit him. "Ow!" Marik groaned.

"Congratulations to our second year dueling champion Hermione Granger. Let us all give her one more round of applause for a spectacular display of magic." The stands erupted again into applause following Dumbledore's announcement. Her friends all around her ruffled her hair and gave her a few more congratulations and hugs following the announcement.

She honestly was still in disbelief. She had actually won! She had put in so much time, energy, and effort over the course of the entire year and it was now paid off. She had completed her goal and the mission she had set out to accomplish. She smiled again as she took in all of the people in the crowds still clapping for her. She now understood why Marik was always smirking when he did things like this. This was a feeling she could get used to. This was a feeling she _would_ get used to.

* * *

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	25. Book2: Chapter 14

**Marik**

"I am hopeful that everyone here remembers our lesson on Monday about magical traces. If you do not I would suggest that you look over page seven-hundred-and-thirty-two again and refresh your memory quickly. Miss Bulstrode, remind me what you learned in charms from Professor Flitwick about enchantments," McGonagall lectured to the class.

"Uhh. . . uhh. . ." Millicent Bulstrode started to stammer out.

"My slice of carrot cake at tomorrow's closing feast says she gets it wrong," Harry whispered.

"You can't bet food in a bet dealing with Bulstrode. I'm pretty sure that is sacrilegious or racist or something," he replied, snickering a little as they watched his fellow Slytherin house-mate struggle.

"Uhh. . ." Millicent continued to stutter but no actual words came.

"Miss Bulstrode I would suggest that you try and pay a little _more_ attention in all of your classes and a little less time chatting with your peers. Must I remind everyone here that end of year projects are due tomorrow. Mr. Potter, I hope that you can provide me with a better answer." McGonagall turned to face Harry.

"Haha," Marik whispered to Harry as he watched the gears in his friends head scrambling to come up with the answer.

"Yes professor. In our lesson on enchantments Professor Flitwick told us that an enchantment is a spell or ritual that imbues a piece or pieces of magic into an object. What the pieces of magic are and what the enchantment does depends on the spell or ritual," Harry replied. Marik snickered again as he watched Harry switch to his polite _yes-mam_ attitude.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. Now, when an object is enchanted it leaves behind a magical trace just like a normal spell does. So just as some of you were able to detect what spells had been cast on an object you should also be able to detect which enhancements have been used on an object. However, what about if you don't want someone to be able to detect magic on an object. . ." McGonagall started to lecture again.

"I thought about betting two pots of ink against you on that question," he whispered to Harry as McGonagall turned around.

"Like I would miss a question in transfiguration. That's your job," Harry replied, a smug smirk on his face.

"You're dead to me," he added, turning his chin back to McGonagall.

"Let's say that your family has a magical safe at home that they have enchanted to repel unlocking spells. Any schooled witch or wizard would be able to find the safe in the house just by searching for traces of magic. However, with transfiguration magic you can transfigure even traces of magic to make them harder to detect, or resemble something else.

"Another example of this is with _animagi._ In the Great War there were a few aurors used by the ministry as spies against the enemies. The _animagi_ aurors would transfigure themselves into their _animagus_ forms as a way to get closer to the enemy without being detected. A few of them were caught though. How you ask, well this is because the enemy was able to detect magic in the animals they saw.

"Once this was realised by a few of the aurors they began transfiguring their traces into something different to make it harder to detect. Arnold Hibigiby is one of the more well known cases of this. Arnold's _animagus_ form was a skunk. So he used transfiguration magic to turn the magical traces of his transformation into an awful scent. The enemies were so distracted by the smell that he was never detected or caught.

"While you may only find yourself needing to cast a spell like this once in a . . ." McGonagall continued to lecture.

"Could you do that with yours yet?" he whispered to Harry.

"I took a note of it but I doubt I'm anywhere near being able to do something like that with my _animagus_ yet," Harry whispered back.

"How long did you and 'Mione end up practicing that yesterday by the way? She looked like she had been up pretty late at breakfast this morning," he asked Harry.

"For five hours at least. It's my toughest presentation so we wanted to make sure I had it down pact. Hermione said I wasn't selling the performance well enough soe she made me practice that too."

"Damn, I bet she was probably up in her room all night working on her own projects then if it took that long. No wonder she looked tired."

"You know how she is around this time of the year. I doubt that she has gotten more than three hours of sleep each night these past few weeks. Where were you and Alina last night by the way? We thought for sure you both were coming to the lab."

"We were in the library all freaking afternoon. I found one date that was wrong in her essay on the _Lumos duo_ spell and ghouls and she started having a panic attack. It took me an hour to get her to calm down and stop crying and after that she wouldn't let us leave until we double checked everything. If Madam Pince hadn't forced us out of the library Alina would have probably tried to keep me there all night."

"Well did she at least finish it?"

"Pretty much yeah. She was going to go over the actual presentation part of it when she got back to her room so I imagine she had a late night too." Knowing Alina and how much she was freaking out about all of her end of year projects he would have been honestly surprised if she had even tried to go to bed last night.

"Well how about you? What all do you have left?" Harry asked him as McGonagall took some points away from Gryffindor because Ron Weasley had been sleeping in the back of class. Marik laughed a little as the red haired boy's face somehow managed to get redder than his hair.

"I'm pretty much good on all my projects. After last year I knew I better have them all done earlier this year if I wanted to have anytime to help everyone else. I'm just going to practice my charms and spell creation project a few more times when we get to the lab," he answered.

"That will be all for today. Good luck on adding the last few touches to your projects. I and the rest of your professors hope that you will not let us down with them. Dismissed," McGonagall announced to the room and at once everyone rose in a hurry to pack their bags and get back to wherever they were either starting or finishing up their end of year projects.

"Do you need to stop by your room to get anything or are we good to go?" Harry asked him as they packed up their things.

"I'm good to go if you are," he replied, putting his notes into his bag.

"Harry I hope that you plan on spending sometime today making sure your transfiguration project is perfect," Professor McGonagall said to Harry as she made her way over to their table.

"Yes professor that's actually what we were just about to go do," Harry replied, noticeably nervous.

"And Mr. Ose while I do appreciate you helping Harry with his project you also know that I expect whatever your project is to give him a run for his money. I'm all for friends helping friends out but you both should still be aiming for first in all of your classes," McGonagall added, turning her attention to him.

"No worries there professor, I know _animagus_ magic will be tough to be beat but I think I will give Harry a good run for his money this year," Marik replied, honestly confident that he really would give Harry a decent run this year.

"I'm happy to hear that Mr. Ose. Now, off you to go," McGonagall said, shooing them out of the classroom.

"This place looks like a ghost town today," Harry commented as they made their way out into the castle halls and headed towards the dungeons.

"Yeah, it does, everyone has probably already locked themselves in their common rooms or practice rooms by this point," he replied, his voice echoing off the empty hallway's walls.

"Speaking of common rooms did you hear what the Weasley twins did yesterday yet?" Harry asked him as they turned a corner and headed down a stairwell.

"No I didn't yet, what'd they do?" he asked.

"So I only saw the tail end of things but apparently they made some sort of ink and quill that turned every word you wrote to say something insulting about one of the professors after thirty minutes. From what I saw they had replaced over fifteen Gryffindor first year quills and ink with them. When I walked in all of the first years were practically crying from panic attacks as everything they had written over the past thirty minutes for their end of year projects had turned into useless insults that would more likely get them expelled than a good mark haha," Harry explained, laughing the entire time.

"I would have killed them if that had been me! What did some of the insults say?" he asked curiously.

"I took one of the quills ad tried it out before I went to bed. Let's just say there was a lot of stuff about the color and design of Snape's underwear and a lot of stuff about the size of Trelawney's glasses in comparison to her breast," Harry answered, again laughing the entire time.

"Yeah, I would have definitely killed them if that had been me," Marik replied, joining in on the laughter as they arrived to their potion's lab door.

"About damn time you two showed up!" Alina shouted at them as they opened the door and entered. The room was covered in cauldrons, papers, books, quills, and ink bottles. It looked like someone had come in and cast a _deprimo_ spell it was so chaotic.

"Sorry that some of us had class today!" Harry argued as he grabbed the seat next to Hermione. Marik made his way around the large table to grab the one next to Alina.

"Excuses excuses!" Alina argued back. Her nose was hovering over her cauldron as she stirred it vigorously.

"We ready to get started?" he asked everyone as he started to unpack his bag. He had to push a huge pile of Alina's papers off the desk to make just a little space for his stuff.

"Well Alina did one more edit of my acromantula essay this morning and we just added the last few ingredients to her _foreverlight potion_ so I think for the most part we are all good to go," Hermione replied. The bags under her eyes looked even deeper and darker today. The poor girl looked like she could use a good nap.

"Alright well who wants to start?" Harry asked them all.

"Me please! I'm going first tomorrow anyways so," Alina replied quickly. The bags under her eyes weren't as bad as Hermione's were but Alina had ink all over her hands which meant that she had probably been writing all night and all morning long. She even had a smudge of ink on the side of her nose that she had apparently not noticed yet.

He grabbed a towel from one of the drawers under the table and soaked the tip of end under the sink. "Alina look at me," he ordered, bringing his hands and towel up to her face to wipe the smudge off her nose.

"Oh. . . Thanks," Alina replied as she looked at the smudge on the towel that had come off her nose. She did her usual blush that she did so often that he loved as his hands left her face.

"Alright Alina go ahead," Harry said.

"Right. Okay so we knocked out my spell creation, herbology, history of magic, and charms yesterday so today I just want you all to help with my transfiguration and dark arts. Hermione already checked my report on my potion and its quality so that's one done too," Alina explained.

"Okay, well let's start with dark arts first," he told her.

"Okay, well who wants to take a quick look at the report while I go over the presentation?" Alina asked their group.

"I'll do the report," Harry replied and took the paper from Alina.

"Alright well I'm going to keep the presentation short and sweet so I'm not just repeating everything that is in the paper," Alina started to explain.

"What are you going to start it with?" Hermione asked.

"That's actually where I'm having the most trouble. Do you think I should mention and demonstrate the spell incantation and wand movements? Or do you think I should just focus more on the report side of things?" Alina asked them.

"You should do it like this." Marik stood up and made his way over to the open part of the potions lab and took out his wand. "For my dark arts project I did an examination and report on the _lumos duo_ spell and ghouls," he started to pace around as he started his example and right when he announced the name of the spell he cast it into the room so that the focused beam of wandlight emerged from his wand as he walked.

"Yeah, I like that. So that way you are demonstrating to Kingsley that you have a mastery of the spell itself along with all of the information pertaining to it," Hermione added to Alina.

"Okay, thanks Marik, I like that way too. I was going to do fifteen seconds on the history of the spell and its effects on ghouls after that. I have a large section of my report on its uses for charging crystal balls as well, do you think I should dedicate more time to that or more time the analytical data of the spell?" Alina asked them.

"Analytics for sure. Again you want to show them that you understand the spell inside and outm" Harry answered.

"I agree," he added.

"Same," Hermione agreed with them.

"Analytics it is then. Alright well then I guess I'm good to go. Tell me how this looks and sounds," Alina said as she stood up from the table and made her way over to the empty side of the potions lab to do a mock-run of her presentation for them to look at.

Over the next three minutes Alina did a run through of her dark arts project for them. He, Hermione, and Harry all watched on from their spots at the table, observing Alina and taking notes on any improvements that she could make to her presentation.

"So what did you think? Please be honest with me," Alina asked them.

"It was certainly very well done, so don't stress about it too much. One pointer I would add would be to make sure near the end when you are talking about the spectrum of the beam that you emphasize the input levels of power a little more. You made them seem like more of a side note than being as important to the spell as they are," Harry was the first to answer.

"I was going to say the same thing as Harry did. Other than that it was perfect," Hermione answered.

"Marik?" Alina asked him.

"I agree it was well done. One thing I would say in regards to selling the presentation a little bit better would be to make sure you keep moving when you demonstrate spell. You stopped, casted the spell, then kept moving.

"It's just like in dueling. If your opponent has to stop to cast a spell you can make the assumption that they probably aren't a master of that spell. Kingsley will make that same observation. Casting spells on the run or whilst moving is a little tougher, so make sure you are moving as you talk and casting."

"Thanks Marik!" Alina replied, one side of her lips curved upwards with a smile.

"Alright do your transfiguration one now and then we will switch," Hermione said.

"Okay, so my transfiguration one McGonagall looked over on Wednesday and said that the report section looked good, so all I need to practice again is the presentation part," Alina explained.

"Let's see what you got then," he said, anxious to see if she had made any changes to the presentation since the last time they had practiced it.

Just like before Alina started to do her presentation in front of them as they looked on for any changes or mistakes to fix. Alina's transfiguration project was a fairly simple one to present. Most of the hard part for it was actually just learning the magic and writing the report. Alina had taken an idea from Harry's mom for her project.

Back when Harry's mother had been at Hogwarts she had used transfiguration magic to get a goldfish into a flower whenever there was sunlight touching the bowl. Alina's project also used a flower but she had used transfiguration magic to make the flower's petals change color depending on her mood. The magic itself was pretty difficult but Alina proved as she presented for them that she had gotten the spell down.

"Okay, so first note, give McGonagall the flower earlier. She needs to be able to look it at while you present more. The way you just did it only gave her a brief moment to look at it," Hermione was the first to speak as Alina finished.

"And make sure you are a little more confident with the presentation. The flower was purple the entire time. If she looks at your report she will see that purple is the color of nervousness. The flower should turn colors in the presentation to show it works but you should just do happy and confident colors ya know?" Harry added.

"Thanks guys. And I will try to be more confident. This is just my first ever time presenting end of year projects. You guys had to be nervous last year right?" Alina asked them.

"Of course we were nervous. But as soon as our presentations started we let that go. We knew we were good, we just had to prove it to everyone," he replied. He had been extremely nervous the night before his first presentations, but as soon as he had walked into the Great Hall he had been as confident as anyone.

"Well I hope my stuff is good enough to prove to everyone that I'm good," Alina said.

"It will be, we promise. My turn!" Hermione replied and stood up to start her last project run through. "Okay, so take a look at my potions paper one more time for me please. I am ready and done with everything but it at the moment. This one needs to be perfect too. I can't afford to mess up on this one, especially since Dumbledore is a creator of the method I brewed my _Draught of peace_ with," Hermione explained.

Marik pushed his chair over to where Harry was sitting at the table and looked over his shoulder at Hermione's report. He gave the report a quick one-over and then watched Hermione give her speech.

Hermione had once again, at least to Marik, proved that she was the top dog when it came to potions. Her _draught of peace_ was not only an even more difficult potion to brew than the _animarevealo potion_ she had brewed last year, but Hermione had used a lot of her ministry grant money to buy dragon's blood to use on the potion. By using dragon's blood in the brewing process the potion's difficulty increased by forty-one percent, which basically meant that the fact that Hermione had managed to somehow get a ninety-seven percent accuracy rating on her potion guaranteed her an ' _M'_ as long as her report looked good.

"Once again, I think it looks fine Hermione. Snape said it did too already," Harry replied with a smile.

"I agree. Your presentation is fine too," he replied. Hermione's report was flawless. The odds of finding an error in a Hermione paper were about as good as finding Snape in pink robes.

"You sure?" Hermione asked them with a skeptical look.

"We are sure," they replied in unison, both of them rolling their eyes.

"Okay, well if you say so. Guess I'm done then," Hermione replied, an accomplished smile appearing on her face.

"Go ahead Harry," Marik said.

"Alright. Well I am not practicing my _animagus_ transfiguration project today since I need to save all the energy I can for it tomorrow. My way-viewer I think is good too. Hermione you did check the math on the moon chart interface section of my notes again this morning right?" Harry asked Hermione as he looked over his projects' check list.

"Yeah, I did. Alina helped me with it too. All the math checked out and the font choice you chose looked good as well," Hermione answered.

"Alright then I guess all I want to go over one more time is my charms project. Who wants to be my guinea pig this time?" Harry asked them.

"I'll do it. You're using me for your presentation anyways so might as well practice on me now," Marik replied and moved over to the other side of the room where he and Marik could practice.

"Sounds good. Here," Harry said as he handed Marik a whiteboard and a marker. "If everyone doesn't mind I want to do the presentation part too with the spells. I made a few tweaks yesterday I wanna see how they play out."

"Yeah, go ahead," Alina replied before anyone and Harry started his charms presentation.

". . .So with that in mind, no pun intended let's test the spells out. For this section of my presentation I will need the help of my good friend Marik and also the help of Professor Flitwick," Harry said, and Hermione and Alina clapped as Marik pretended to bow to the stands. "Really?" Harry asked them with a roll of his eyes as Marik sat back down on his stool and the girls stopped clapping.

"For the first demonstration Professor Flitwick I would like you to write a list of five spells. The spells can be any spell you want. They can even be ones we have not learned in class. I want you to give Marik that list of spells. Marik I want you to write the five spells on your whiteboard and show everyone in the stands what spells Professor Flitwick chose.

"I will be blindfolded the entire this is taking place. When the names of the spells have all been written and the crowd has seen them I will start," Harry continued. Harry blindfolded himself and Hermione and Alina wrote a list of five spells that then gave to Marik. Marik copied the spells onto his white paper and showed the board to the imaginary crowd.

"Okay, I will now dive into Marik's mind and read the spells of the whiteboard through the memories Marik created as he wrote them down. _Legilimens!"_ Harry shouted out the spell and immediately Marik could feel Harry inside his head. The feeling was uncomfortable, like you had a slight ache behind your eyes or an itch you couldn't scratch.

 _Hello cutie._ Marik heard a whispered voice that sounded like Harry say inside his head.

 _I will kill you._ He focused on the thought, trying to make it clear that Harry needed to speed it up and stop joking around.

"Alright I have located the memory and found the spells that Marik wrote on his board. The spells on his board are _Harry is cute, Harry is stupid, Harry forgot to wear deodorant today, Harry is lame,_ and last but not least _Harry's fly is unzipped,_ " Harry announced into the room. Marik, Alina, and Hermione all burst out into laughter.

"Bravo!" They all shouted in unison.

"Very funny guys! Next time you better write what he actually gives you though!" Harry shouted, rolling his eyes at them again.

"I did write what they gave me! And that's impressive as hell man. If you were able to get all of that then tomorrow will be a breeze. It won't be enough to beat me, but it will still be good," Marik replied with a cocky smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, thanks for helping me,"Harry said, grabbing his seat back at the table.

"Thanks for not frying my brain while you were in there," Marik replied as he went to is bag to grab his notes.

"All right Marik finish us off. I'm starting to get hungry," Alina said.

"You are always hungry," Hermione replied.

"So!" Alina argued, sticking out her tongue.

"Well I just wanna do two things so I will make them quick. Hermione," he said and made his way over to the open side of the room with Hermione, who would be assisting him with his presentations tomorrow.

"Okay, I am just gonna wing the presentation part for these but I want your opinions on at least how I should do the actual spell casting part," he explained.

"Which spell do you want to start with?" Hermione asked him.

"Let's do dark arts first. So I my idea with it is to demonstrate the spell in two different methods. One offensive and one defensive. So I want you first Hermione to try and cast a _stupefy_ at me. The first one I'm going to stop you from getting the spell off. After I do that I want you to cast another one at me, that time I'm going to just block the spell," he explained to her.

"Ready?" she asked him, her wand raised.

"Go," he ordered.

" _Stupe. . ."_ Hermione started to shout the spell out.

" _Umbrosio!"_ He cast his shadow magic spell before she could finish. As quick as lighting a shadowy, black, smoky figure shot up from the ground behind Hermione. One arm grabbed Hermione's wrist before she could finish the wand movement, the figure's other arm wrapped itself around Hermione's mouth, not letting her finish the incantation. After a brief moment he cut the spell off and the figure dissipated into Hermione's shadow.

" _Stupefy!"_ Hermione shouted out as soon as she was free.

" _Umbrosio!"_ he shouted out his spell again. Another figure emerged, but this time out of his shadow. The figure stepped in front of him and took the full brunt of Hermione's spell. Smoke and dark energy erupted into the room but Marik was unharmed by Hermione's spell. It worked.

"Still spooks me every time," Hermione said with a shiver as they finished.

"Looked badass as hell to me! I think that Hermione should use _incarcerous_ instead of _stupefy_ though. The ropes will look more dramatic than one beam of magic will," Alina gave her opinion.

"I didn't think of that. That's a good idea. Yeah, Hermione do _incarcerous_ tomorrow instead. Everything else though we will keep the same," he replied, looking over his notes one last time.

"So is that everything?" Harry asked them.

"Everyone has their potions in a flask ready to present?" Hermione asked.

"Yes!" they all replied in unison.

"All presentation papers are tidy and ready to give to the professors?" he asked them all.

"Yes!" they replied in unison.

"Everyone knows how they want to present everything?" Alina asked them as they all checked another box off their checklist.

"Yes!" they all again replied in unison.

"Harry has his fly finally zipped up?" Hermione asked.

"No!" He and Alina shouted in unison as Harry once again rolled his eyes. Hermione burst into tired giggles.

"Hahaha you all are so funny," Harry groaned out painfully.

"Let's go freaking eat now!" Alina shouted out in excitement as she jumped up off her stool.

"I agree with that suggestion," he added, stretching some kinks out as he stood up from his stool too.

"Alright let's go. Then everyone needs to head to their rooms to get some sleep for tomorrow!" Hermione ordered, sounding like his mother.

"Yes mother," Harry replied before he could.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a hippogriff. I wish Hogwarts had a class on magical foods. I would for sure get an ' _M'_ in that!" Alina said as they extinguished the candles in their potions lab and headed towards the Great Hall, laughing all the way.

* * *

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	26. Book2: Chapter 15

**Harry**

"Hurry up Harry!" he heard Alina's voice call out from their normal spot at the Ravenclaw table. As usual, curious eyes followed him when they heard his name as he hurried over to where his friends were all already sitting.

"Took you long enough," Marik said as soon as he sat down.

"Sorry McGonagall held me in the common room to talk after I finished packing." He said, trying to catch his breath from hurrying to arrive.

"Ooh what did she want?" Hermione asked him.

"She just congratulated me on my end of year projects and told me to expect an owl from her soon," he answered her.

"I wonder what she is sending you," Alina said, still looking as nervous as she had that morning even though her presentations were all over.

"Probably just a list of transfiguration stuff to prepare myself for third year. And why do you still look so nervous, presentations are over?" he asked her. Alina's hands looked like they were shaking.

"Becauseee I feel like I did so bad! I had such good projects and we practiced them all so much! I just feel like I choked," Alina answered, looking sad.

"Oh stop it Alina, I overheard three different first year Slytherin's while I was packing say you made them all look like muggles with your projects. You did fine," Marik replied to Alina. She looked comforted by his words and changed her face to a smile.

"I asked Luna in our common room how she thought things played out and she said that your potions presentation was by far the best in your year," Hermione said to Alina.

"No way! Thanks Hermione! So spill the beans already how did your project's go?" Alina asked them all.

"Well my _draught of peace_ seemed to impress Snape about as much as my _animarevealo_ did last year so that was good. Binns seemed to like my report on Acromantulas but I can never really tell what he was thinking. And I was surprised how much Flitwick liked my report and demonstration on the memory spell. Even though it is a spell we eventually will learn in fifth year he seemed to be really impressed with it," Hermione answered first, making her performances seem smaller than they had been.

"Hermione blew it out of the water Alina. Flitwick even said that only the top few _fifth_ years can even successfully cast the memory spell she did. And _Dumbledore_ gave her a standing ovation for her potions presentation," he said, making Hermione blush a little.

"How about you Harry?" Alina asked, turning to face him.

"I'm feeling a lot more confident this year than last that is for sure. My three layered _animagus_ transfiguration spell was by far the professor's' favorite," he started to answer.

"And he didn't even get interrupted by a house elf this time!" Marik interrupted him. They all laughed at the joke.

"Yeah that did help." He continued. "My presentation on _occlumency_ and _legilimency_ seemed to impress Kingsley and Dumbledore a lot so that was good too," he explained.

"That sounds like you did better than you hoped too then! What about your astronomy project?" Alina asked again.

"It went well, Sinistra seemed to like the additions and modifications I made to the galactic way-viewer," he said, answering Alina.

"He is putting it modest too. He got just as much applause as me and Marik did on all of his presentations. I think this year's ' _M'_ rankings are honestly up for grab in almost every subject between us," Hermione interrupted. He smiled at the compliment from her.

He hoped she was right. He had been working all year like a madman to make sure his marks this year were better than last. In the end he could honestly say he was proud with the progress he had made this year on his magic. In just his second year he was further in his _animagus_ work than most people were in their sixth. As well he had finally began to break through on his mind magics during the last two months of classes and already was beginning to push into the more difficult areas of the subject.

"Well what about you?" Alina asked, staring at Marik.

"My herbology project was the best by far," Marik joked. Hermione and Alina both just gave him death glares instead of any laughs. "What? At least I did one this year! And Sprout did seem to like it!" Marik tried to argue.

"Seriously Marik! How did you do?" Alina said, raising her voice at Marik. She had quickly become the best person in their group at controlling Marik.

"Well both of my shadow spells seemed to go over about as good as last year. And Snape did not laugh at my potions project so that is always a plus!" Marik answered.

"Well I'm glad. Do you think Daphne or anyone else might steal and ' _M'_ this year?" Alina asked.

"She could. Her projects were all pretty impressive," he answered her.

"I think we will make it two years straight though as the top dogs though. Neville will probably get herbology, but the poor bastard deserves that much." Marik answered, making a smirk as he did.

"I hope so." Hermione added, making a nervous face.

"So you guys ready to pay up?" He asked his friends, changing the subject. They had talked nonstop about their end of year projects for the past month and he was ready to put them behind him.

"Are you kidding me? There is no way Hufflepuff is losing this!" Alina said, standing up in defiance at his comment.

"Well I know I will be paying up," Marik added putting his head on the table in defeat.

They had all made a bet a few months back about which of their houses would win the House Cup. Since each one of them was in a different house it had become quite competitive over the last two months. Well, competitive except for Slytherin. Some first year Slytherin boy named Malcom had tried to jinx Alina one day when her and Marik where walking the front lawn a few days after they all made the bet. Marik had proceeded to jinx the pants off of Malcom, literally, after he caught up to the boy.

When McGonagall showed up to the scene she ended up taking away a ton of points from Marik due to him using spells that were too aggressive to be used on another student, which they probably were just a little too aggressive. Malcom also lost a lot of points for his house for attempting to attack another student, so in the end it was a three horse race between everyone but Slytherin.

Right now Gryffindor was in first, with Ravenclaw right behind in second, and Hufflepuff a little ways behind in third. In their bet the three losers would all have to do one assignment for the winner next year so the stakes were high. The free time you could get from skipping three assignments was one of the most valuable things you could get at Hogwarts. So this was like gold to them.

"Don't worry Marik, maybe when you do my potions work next year you might actually learn how to brew a proper potion," Hermione joked, sticking her tongue out.

"Wow! Thanks _Hermione-no-soul-satan-Granger_!" Marik shouted, still with his head down on the table. A few owls started to trickle into the Hall overhead for the last mailtime of the year. This was the only time in the year the owls came at dinner time since the Hall was used for project presentations all morning. An owl flew right over their group and dropped a letter in front of Hermione, Marik, and Alina.

"What are those?" he asked them, feeling slightly upset that everyone but him had got one.

"Ughhh nooooooo." Marik returned his head to the table after reading his.

"Well?" he asked again. He probably sounded like Hermione did when she wanted to know something.

"It is from the Minister of Magic's office. The minister wants to do interviews before the tournament this summer with all of the contestants," Hermione answered him, looking visibly upset as she did.

Marik had told him everything that he had overheard the Minister of magic say when he was alone in the castle. Harry had been surprised to hear how little the minister cared about those who were not purebloods and how he actually been happy that there might be a few less muggleborns in the world. It made them all sick. Since then there opinions of the minister had become about as low as you can get.

"No way in hell I am going to that," Marik stated, lifting his head up from the table.

"I agree. All I would be able to think about during the interview would be that he said he was happy I was dead," Alina added, agreeing with Marik.

"I never thought I would agree with ignoring the Minister of Magic but I'm in the same boat as you guys. No way I'm talking to that ass," Hermione added, ripping her letter up.

"So, changing the subject. . ." he started to say as their group got quiet thinking about the minister. "What is everyone going to work on the most this summer?" he asked the group, but never got an answer as the Headmaster had made his way to the podium and silenced the Hall.

"Before we begin the final feast of the year I would like to thank you all for making it another great year at Hogwarts and for again pushing the boundaries of magic with all of your projects. You all did a great job and should be proud of how far you have come since the start of the year. Please give yourself a round of applause," Dumbledore announced and started clapping, the rest of the students and staff in the Hall quickly joining in.

"Next I wish you all the best of luck in your grades this summer." A loud groan from many of the other students could be heard throughout the Hall at the mention of grades, including Hermione and Alina. "I look forward seeing you all again next years, except the seventh years! I better not see any of you here next year!" Dumbledore joked, and again more groans could be heard from a few seventh years. "Now let us see the final point totals for the House Cup this year. Professor Flitwick would you please add the last two week totals," Dumbledore said, looking at the small professor.

Flitwick snapped his fingers and the sand inside the glasses started moving. The entire Hall looked on with bated breath.

"And this year's House Cup winner is. . . Hufflepuff!" Dumbledore announced to the Hall. The Hufflepuff table along with Alina stood up and erupted into cheers. Loud chants of _Hufflepuff_ echoed off the walls of the Great Hall as all the banners turned to the house's colors. He could see Professor Sprout smiling from ear to ear at the teacher's table.

"Hahaha! Suck it!" Alina said, pointing fingers at the three of them. "I expect nothing less than perfect marks on the assignments I chose!" she sneered. Marik's head again found its place on the table with a thud. Harry just groaned, trying not to think about having to do even more work next year.

Dumbledore snapped his fingers and all of the food appeared on the tables throughout the Hall. "Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore finished announcing and they all started digging in. He almost got his finger bit off when he reached for the rolls that Alina and Marik had grabbed first.

"Would the following second year students please come up here when I call out your names." All the second year's turned from their plates to look at McGonagall who was talking at the podium.

"What is this about?" Marik asked them.

"Shhh!" Hermione said.

"Daphne Black, Cho Chang, Hermione Granger, Padma Patil, Harry Potter, and Marik Ose," McGonagall finished announcing the names.

"Oh god what did we do?" Marik asked, looking concerned. The three of them made their way up to McGonagall along with the other three names that had been called. All of them looked as pale as ghosts.

"I will make this quick because I am sure you are all hungry. You were told by one of your professors during your first year at Hogwarts that in your third year you would be able to take as many electives as you would like. You six have proved yourselves to be the top students in your year first year, and I expect much the same this year when I see your grades.

"With that in mind I encourage you all to seriously consider taking more than just the one elective you are already taking next year, so that you can continue to push yourselves to reach the potentials that you all have." McGonagall received nods from everyone their. It was really no surprise to see them all nodding though, who had the balls to tell her no.

"Your third year at Hogwarts is truly the year that separates the _good_ witches and wizards from the _great_ witches and wizards. It is in your third year where we professors begin to expect much more out of you and where as a student you must truly push yourself harder than ever before. Even the hard work that I know you all put in this year will not be enough for next year. Obsession is what it truly takes to be at the top starting next year, and the top is the only thing I expect from each of you. Which is why you are here." McGonagall changed her look from the normal death glare to a somewhat attempt at a smile.

"At the end of the year every year the professors vote on six second year students to receive the Ministry of Magic's signature student award. While the choice of the votes do not reflect the ranking of the students or your grades, the votes do reflect the six students that the professors see the greatest potential in. You are the six we have chosen." Most of the students up in front of McGonagall looked around in disbelief at the others. Notably Daphne and Marik didn't look to surprised.

"Now the reason this is so important and the reason we professors vote on who gets this award is because of this." She handed each of them a small weird looking metal device. "This device has been enchanted by the ministry to give the six students chosen to receive it the ability to perform magic outside of the school during the summer between years," McGonagall explained, and notably all six of their jaws dropped this time.

"Now while you cannot perform spells that risk the law of secrecy or obviously harm someone else, you will be able to perform a large number of spells. You have been chosen by us and given this opportunity because we expect greatness from you all. Therefore we expect you take full advantage of this and get as far ahead as you can over the summer.

As I said third year is where the challenge begins. If you do not train, research, study, and practice over the summer you will not find yourself at the top of the class next year. That is all. Do _not_ let us down!" McGonagall finished talking, and a weird smile rose on her face. He was sure she got joy out of scaring them.

Like ants they all scattered away from the professor as quick as they could back to their seats. The three of them sat down when they arrived back to where Alina was waiting for them. Their faces still set with a look of fright and in disbelief.

"Well! Spill the beans!" Alina shouted at them when they sat down. The three of them just looked at each other not knowing what to say.

"We are dead is what happened," Marik said, and again for the third time found his head meeting the table. Luckily he dodged the pot of gravy next to his plate.

"What does that mean? What happened?" Alina asked with a mouth full of bread.

"McGonagall gave us these," he said, handing her the metal object McGonagall gave them.

"What is it?" Alina asked, looking curiously at the object.

"It allows us to use magic over the summer," Hermione answered from beside him.

"What! That is so unfair! That is awesome! So why do you all look so down now, you should be celebrating?" Alina asked them, looking worried.

"McGonagall basically said that all of our work this year was nothing compared to the work we will have to do next year. And that the only reason we were getting these was because if we didn't work over the summer we would be screwed," he answered her. He suddenly didn't feel hungry.

"I don't think it's possible to work harder than I did this year. . ."Hermione said, she looked pale.

"I barely slept at all. . ." Marik added, still with his head down.

"Oh I am sure she was just making it sound worse than it will be. You know how she is! So why did only you six guys get them?" Alina asked, trying to comfort them.

"The professors voted on the six students in our year with the most _potential_." he answered her. Not really believing the words anymore.

"That's a huge honor! Congratulations!" Alina replied, again trying to comfort them.

"Yeah, I guess. . ." Hermione said, quietly as she poked at some peas on her plate.

"Oh snap out of you guys!" Alina shouted at them. "You just got permission to practice magic over the summer. Most people here would kill for that! I know I would and I just may! To go along with that the professors said you were basically the best in your year. We should be celebrating!" Alina said, continuing to shout at them. He noticed some eyes around them looking at them now.

"Yeah okay you are right," he said, admitting defeat. He would worry about next year tomorrow, for today he would enjoy being done with another year.

"There you go Harry! Now Marik pass me the butter or I will turn that pouting face of yours into a snail!" Alina said, threatening Marik who quickly lifted his head and passed her the butter. They couldn't help but all laugh at him as he did.

"Cheers everyone." He grabbed his cup of juice and raised it to the middle of their section, wanting to salute the end of year and all of the work they had done.

"You can't make a toast with apple juice Harry," Marik said from the other side of the table.

"Shut up and raise your damn glass Marik!" he said, shouting at his friend. Marik quickly raised his glass. "To another great year at Hogwarts," he said, raising his glass higher.

"And to Goonie the Uni," Marik added, earning a groan from he and Hermione and a confused look from Alina.

"And cheers to all the good times and great memories," Hermione added her cheers, and smiled at him.

"And to having the greatest friends in the world!" Alina added.

"To friends!" They all said in unison and clanked their glasses together, toasting another great year at Hogwarts, and an even greater time together..

* * *

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	27. Book3: Chapter 1

**Hermione**

The crowded bus that she was sat in slowly rounded another one of Paris's busy street corners. To the people sitting around her it would look like she was just an ordinary normal girl reading a standard student's literature book, but in reality she was reading something far more magical than any story in a literature book, and by far much more interesting. She lifted her nose up from the book on substitute potion supplies she had been reading to take a look out of the window next to her seat. Noticing as she looked out of her seat's window that the bus was at last arriving at her stop she put her book back into her school bag. As the bus pulled to a stop she got up from her seat and exited onto the busy street.

Her family had been in France for close to a month now, having left Britain just a week after finishing up her second year at Hogwarts. So far, thanks mainly to the gift McGonagall had given her at the closing-day ceremony, this summer had been a much better one than last summer had. Hermione had taken the professor's warning about third year's extreme difficulty to heart, and spent almost every available summer minute continuing to work on her studies and magic.

At first her parents had been against her doing so much work over the summer, and wanted her to spend more time with them, however, thankfully after her head of house, professor Flitwick, had come to talk to them about the summer dueling tournament they both seemed to lighten up a bit. They still found ways to make it as difficult as possible for her to get work done some days though.

Since Flitwick was one of the referees in the tournament he was not allowed to play favorites, or help her at all over the summer. However, Flitwick had called in a favor he was owed from one of his old dueling partners, who surprisingly was also a fellow Ravenclaw graduate, to send her a few books that would be of some help. Without breaking any rules Flitwick had made it clear that he was rooting for the Ravenclaw house in this tournament, which made her feel happy to have his support.

The books she was sent were all about advanced dueling strategies, techniques, and the one that was easily her favorite one so far was on the history of dueling. The books on the histories of dueling were a very interesting historical read that provided ample analytics of famous duels and the strategies of each renowned duelist. There was even a section on professor Flitwick in one of the books, describing his numerous victories in great detail. Those books along with the others Flitwick sent her had been extremely helpful preparing her for the tournament and had bolstered her confidence greatly.

So far this summer the largest majority of her time had been spent preparing and training for the dueling tournament, however, she also had been spending more than enough time on the rest of her studies in preparation for the demanding third year. She would not let herself get rusty like she had over the summer last year, especially after McGonagall's warning about third year's difficulty.

Thankfully with McGonagall's gift and the ability to practice magic outside of school had made it easy to not get rusty. Finishing all of her assigned summer work and readings for third year classes had only taken her a few days, so that meant she had an ample amount of free time after that to begin getting ahead in her third year courses.

She had decided that along with continuing her spell creation elective, that she would also be taking care of magical creatures and ancient runes this semester; which meant that she would have two more classes to work on next year with the same amount of time and possibly even less time to get the work done. So getting ahead now was no longer just an option, but instead it was now a necessity if she wanted to pass. She had given a lot of thought about possibly also taking divination class as well next year, but laughed about the idea after a few moments realising there was no way in hell she would enjoy that class. Plus there was no way she would physically even have the time for

another class with how busy her schedule already was.

After just a few days of initial research she had already fallen in love with the ancient runes course, and could not wait for the class to start so she could learn more about the subject. A large amount of time in her first week of vacation had been spent in Paris's magical library scouring the shelves for any books on the subject that she could find. Unfortunately, she did not have the tools and equipment needed to craft runes yet so she was stuck just researching as much as she could.

Even though she was practically dying of curiosity to continue her research on ancient runes, at the start of summer's second week though she decided to switch gears and focus more time and energy on dueling; since ancient runes and care of magical creatures would not help her at all with the approaching dueling tournament. After the tournament she would devote all of her time to preparing for her courses. So as the days grew nearer and nearer to the day of the tournament she had begun to put more and more of her time into practicing her spellwork and dueling strategies.

Unfortunately even with McGonagall's gift she was unable to practice a lot of the high powered spells she knew that she would need to win the tournament. However, just getting to practice spells in general and knowing she was not getting rusty was making her feel a lot better.

She was also still able to practice a lot of simpler spells that were mentioned in the books Flitwick's colleague had sent, and if she had learned anything about dueling in her two years at Hogwarts she knew that every spell could be used to win a duel, and it was not all about the big and powerful spells. Overall she would say that her studies and work so far this summer had been a success. With all of the studying and practice she had done so far she was feeling confident about her chances in the tournament. Of course to win the whole tournament that meant that she would have to beat Marik in the end, and she knew he was putting in just as much work as she was. Which meant winning would be _very_ difficult.

Speaking of her friends, Harry, Marik, and Alina had kept up with writing her often over the summer, even with them all studying like mad men too. She had expected Marik to barely write her over the summer since she knew how competitive he was about winning the tournament again, but surprisingly he had wrote her by far more than anyone else so far.

Marik had also decided to take ancient runes this upcoming year, so the two of them had wrote back and forth with questions and findings on the subject often. While the subject of the tournament was often brought up, Marik, at least in his letters, seemed more excited about just getting to practice magic over the summer than dueling in the tournament. Which did not surprise her one bit.

While Marik surprisingly had been providing her with a play by play of everything he had been working on over the summer, Harry on the other hand only sent her a letter around once a week. After finding out that Harry had successfully added the third layer of his _animagus_ form to his ritual, Harry's father and Alina's father decided to help him out with it some over the summer. Harry had told her that the three of them, for some reason, were taking a trip to a campground in Scotland to practice more. Apparently being out in the wild made the ritual process easier or something. Since Harry had left on his trip his letters had become even less frequent. It had been over a week since his last letter and even that one had been short and to the point.

Alina and her had been exchanging about two letters a week since the start of the summer. Even though Alina was only going into her second year she had also taken McGonagall's warning to heart. Since the start of the summer Alina had been researching and studying just as much as Hermione had been. Alina said that the more she got ahead this year, the less she would have to be worried about going into her third year, which totally sounded something like Hermione would have said when she was in her second year.

While her and Alina had certainly became close friends ever since Alina had started hanging out with them after everything in the Chamber, the two of them had become much closer over the summer. Outside of exchanging information and research with each other, the two of them had also exchanged a lot of personal information too. From this exchange, the two of them had learned a lot more about the other and grown closer to the point now where Alina had even said that Hermione felt more like her sister than Daphne did. Although she was sure Alina was just exaggerating that letter had still made her happy. After all she had never had a sister before.

Through her and Alina's letters it became clear to Hermione that Alina was not only studying and working hard because of her classes but for other reasons as well. While Alina would not admit it yet, the fact that almost every letter she wrote in some way mentioned Marik it had become clear that her newest friend had feelings for Marik. It made sense, since the two of them were practically inseparable towards the end of last year and had spent practically every minute outside of class together.

Alina had wrote countless times asking if Marik would be impressed with a spell she learned or discussing how she hoped he would keep giving her lessons and help again this year. It really was quite cute. Each letter from her friends made her miss being with them at Hogwarts a little more and more. Thankfully though, in just a short time she would be reunited with all of her friends.

They would all be meeting up in Germany in a week at the location that the European Magic Students Dueling Tournament was being hosted at this year. More exciting than that though was that in her last letter from Alina she had found out that Alina's parents had agreed to allow Alina to come stay a week with her family in France before the tournament. And to Hermione's joy that day was finally today.

Checking her watch as she walked along the sidewalk towards her family's condo she saw that Alina's portkey was set to arrive in just a few minutes. Picking up her pace she practically sprinted in excitement down the street until she arrived at her family's condo and quickly made her way inside through the front door.

"Welcome back Hermione, you have someone here to see you," her mom said as soon as she made her way into the kitchen. She looked around to see Alina sitting at the table.

"Alina!" she shouted and ran over to her friend to give her a hug. They embraced each other for a while, neither one of them wanting to let go.

"The way you both are acting you would think you two haven't seen each other in over ten years," her mother said, laughing at the sight of the two girls.

"It feels like it has been that long!" Alina answered her mother, releasing herself from the hug.

"How have you been? You got here early," she asked, sitting down next to her friend.

"I've been soooo bored! But good! I missed you if you couldn't tell! And yeah my mom and Daphne had to run some errands today in Diagon Alley so they sent me over here a little earlier than planned," Alina answered, a huge smile was lit on her face.

"I'm sorry for being late then, if I had known I would have got here earlier!" she replied, trying to apologize.

"I only arrived like three minutes before you did so it's fine. Your mother was just telling me a good story about you anyways!" Alina said giggling.

"What did you tell her?" she shouted at her mother, looking at her worried. Her mother was a gossip queen so there was no telling.

"Oh calm yourself Hermione, nothing bad! I was just asking Alina if she had any dirt on your friend Harry for me, and if she was as upset as you were that he wasn't writing that often," her mother said with a wink. Hermione felt her cheeks instantly start to blush.

"MOM!" she shouted, her cheeks fully red now and starting to burn a little.

"Don't worry Hermione I only told her the bad stuff," Alina joked, earning a death glare from her.

"Oh I like you already Alina," her mother said, laughing in response to Alina's sarcasm.

"You guys are the worst! Hey mom, how many times did Alina bring up Marik since she arrived?" she asked her mom, trying to pay Alina back. Alina's skin paled and her eyes went wide and scared at the mention of Marik.

"Hey that is mean! And has nothing to do with this! Marik is just my friend!" Alina shouted from her seat at the table. Her cheeks were also starting to blush.

"Ooh give me the details!" her mother asked, grabbing a seat at the table beside them. Her mother always got excited at gossip and girl talk. Hermione guessed it was because having a daughter like Hermione meant the chances to gossip were few and far between. "I remember Marik and his family from the tournament last year. He seemed like a sweet boy. Cute too!" her mother added. Alina was still blushing and looked like she had been hit by a bus. "So the two of you are a thing huh?" her mother asked Alina. Alina's mouth just opened and she was too in shock to answer.

"They had a romantic date by the lake outside the school one night, and ever since then Marik and her spent every night studying together!" she told her mother. Alina's shock worsened.

"It was not a date and if you will recall that night didn't end too well! And we all spent every night studying together!" Alina argued in defense, waking from her shock.

"Have Harry and Hermione gone on any dates yet? Hermione never tells me anything," her mother asked Alina. This time Alina had an evil smile on her face and instead she was the one blushing and looking shocked. She found herself not able to say anything in defense of her mother's question.

"No, but they do hold hands a lot!" Alina answered with a smirk on her face. With a smirk like that it was clear Marik had unfortunately rubbed off a little on her.

"Ohh Hermione, look at you!" her mother added playfully. She was enjoying this too much.

"W-w-we do not!" she tried to argue back. They had only held hands a few times and each time it was a high pressure situation. Everyone does that. Right. . ?

"Well I'll let you two girls go now before we break Hermione. Alina if you need anything please ask, and anything in the kitchen is fair game so don't hesitate to take whatever you want. Dinner's at six so you both don't be late. Hermione's dad is cooking lobster tonight so save some room," her mother announced as she stood up from the table.

"Ooh I love Lobster! Thank you again for everything Mrs. Granger and letting me stay here!" Alina replied, and Hermione's mom left the two of them alone.

The two of them got up from the table and headed to the room Hermione had been staying in for the summer. She had cleaned it yesterday, somewhat, knowing that Alina would be arriving today, but with the lack of shelves around the room she still had all of her books and school supplies scattered around everywhere. To most it was messy, to her it was home.

"This looks just like our potion's lab at Hogwarts, only a lot brighter! It feels like I'm home!" Alina said as she jumped onto the bed, causing some parchment to fly into the air.

"How is that?" she asked her friend.

"Books all over the place, the smell of potions, and the feeling of magic everywhere. I missed this!" Alina answered, smiling a warm smile.

"Sorry it is still a mess," she apologized as she tried to stack up a few piles of her books in a desperate attempt to tidy the room a little more.

"It's perfect don't worry. What are you brewing over there anyways?" Alina asked as she made her way over to her portable potions lab setup in the room.

"It's the _wiggenweld potion_. It's one of the first potions third year's brew. I already brewed it a few times in my first year, but I'm trying it again this time with a substitute of pixy wings and lemon juice instead of just the doxy to test the results."

Snape had challenged her at the end of last year to start working on going outside of the normal recipes' of potions. He had told her that anyone could read a recipe, but the true masters of brewing understood the entirety of their resources, brewing processes, and draughts.

It had been tough so far, especially for someone like her who was a by-the-books type of person, but she had slowly begun to understand Snape's point the more she practiced. It really did make understanding the subjects of potions much easier when you understood the entirety of everything involved, although it was also much more work and required a lot more effort.

"I brewed that one last year too! It was actually one of my first potions to get a positive nod from Snape. I just finished brewing a batch _hairgrow_ _potion_ the other day. Surprisingly my dad was a actually a lot of help with it. I think he just wanted to use it for a prank though," Alina replied. She had moved over to a pile of books and started flipping through them.

"That is a good potion to practice. It was one of the first one's Snape told me to work on in my second year. Oh yeah that reminds me," she reached into her bag and got the two books she had gotten at the library today for Alina,"here are the two books you asked me to get for you," she said, handing the books over to Alina.

"I can't believe you found them! I have been looking all over the libraries in London for them. Thank you so much!" Alina immediately flopped onto the bed and started reading one of the books Hermione had procured from the local wizarding library in Paris.

"If you don't mind me asking why did you want a book on the spell creation of _lumos,_ and another on the muggles' studies of the science of light. The second one isn't even a wizarding book?"

Hermione had been curious to know the answer to this question since the moment Alina had asked her to try and find the two books for her. Neither one of the books seemed like the most interesting or useful subjects to be researching. Especially for someone like Alina who was trying to prepare for a dueling tournament and her second year at Hogwarts.

"Well it's actually kind of embarrassing. . . I will tell you if you promise not to tell anyone! Especially not Marik, or Harry!" Alina replied, looking up from her book.

"Okay, I promise," she answered, now even more curious to know.

"Well I don't know the best way to say it. . . It's like this: You guys all have like a signature magic, and I didn't want to be left out," Alina answered. Even with Alina's answer she was still confused.

"What do you mean we have a signature magic?" she asked, unsure of what Alina meant by her answer.

"Well like. . . Marik told me last year that Flitwick taught him that every wizard has a type of magic that they will excel more in than others, and every person has a special signature in their magic. For example like my dad excelled in charms when he was in school.

"When he and my mom both cast a charms spell it is easy to tell which one is my dads. His charms always seems to have a special color and aura to them. His magic has its own signature. Marik has his shadow magic, Harry has his transfiguration and _animagus_ magic, and you with your potions are like the god of brewing. You all have your signatures and I wanted to have a signature magic of my own," Alina answered her, sounding embarrassed as she spoke.

"I guess I never thought about that. . . Well then why these two books?" she asked, still curious about Alina's choice in books.

"You promise you won't tell Marik or Harry?" Alina asked her again. Her cheeks were flushed.

"Yes Alina I promise, what is the big deal?" she asked, dying to know already.

"Well Marik actually gave me the initial idea a long time ago, before me and him even met, or he even knew who I was. Harry told me one time that Marik used a _lumos maxima_ spell to beat him in your first year tournament. I obviously had not been there to see it but in my head it sounded like the most amazing thing to me. Because of that story the _lumos maxima_ spell was one of the first spells I learned at Hogwarts.

"Ever since I heard that story I knew I wanted to learn more magic like it, the only problem was I still wasn't actually a student at Hogwarts along with the fact that I could not find any magic in my family's library close to what I was looking for. When I saw the dueling tournament over the summer and the incredible magic Marik had created all of my ideas clicked though.

"Well Marik's signature magic is all about using shadows and the dark. So it gave me the idea to try and use the opposite in kind of the same way. Last year once I started taking spell creation too I began to realise that some of my ideas might actually even be possible. I want to try and come up with my own signature type of magic that uses light in the same way Marik uses the dark," Alina answered, still looking embarrassed.

"Alina that is an awesome idea! That sounds so cool. I'm jealous I never thought of anything cool like that. Why is that embarrassing and why don't you want Harry or Marik to know?" she asked Alina.

"Well I was thinking if I could use light magic and Marik used darkness magic we would make. . . a good team. . ." Alina hid behind her book as she finished answering, mumbling the last few words. It all really made sense now.

"You are sooo cute Alina," she flopped onto the bed next to her blushing friend. "Anyways, I never really thought about signature magic before. I'm jealous that I don't have the imagination to think of something cool like that," she said to Alina.

"What do you mean? You have your amazing brewing as a signature. Everyone in the school associates potions with you. And we could all brew the same potion, but your potions always find a way to give better results. My sister has learned that the hard way."

"Yeah, but that's not really _my_ signature. Lots of people are good at brewing potions. Not many people can do the _animagus_ magic Harry can already do, and he is getting better at _occlumency_ and _legilimency_ everyday. That type of magic isn't even taught at Hogwarts!

"No one as far as I know can do what Marik can do with his shadow magic. And now you have a unique concept I can't think I have ever heard of anyone doing either," she responded, thinking to herself if she could think of anyone who had done anything similar to what Alina was looking into.

"Yeah, I guess. . . Well why don't I help you try to think of something then? I'm sure while we are researching it we could find a lot of cool magic along the way too!" Alina said, sitting up on the bed looking excited at the prospect of finding new cool magic.

"I don't know. I mean I have so much other stuff too work on. And you need to prepare for the tournament too."

She had tried in her first year during spell creation classes to think of something creative and original like Marik had, and had even tried again last year when Harry had discussed exploring more creative ideas with transfiguration magic. Both times though her lack of imagination had made it impossible. Alina did have a point though. When you had a signature magic that was particular to you it made so you not only stood out more, but specifically in dueling, it made you a much tougher opponent. It was one of the reasons Marik would be so hard to beat in the tournament. No one besides him knew how his shadow magic worked or how to defend against it.

"Oh, come on. Think of how cool it could be! Everyone in school will be in awe of us four and our powerful magic! They will all call us the fated four! I will be the queen of light, Marik will be the king of shadows, Harry will be the god of transfiguration, and you Hermione will be the goddess of. . ." Alina scratched her chin as she tried to think of something but nothing came.

"The fated four? I think you are _just_ a little bit crazy Alina," she said, laughing at Alina's story.

"I thought that would be a cool name! Whatever! Come on let's at least spend a little time trying to think of something. In the end if we can't find anything at least we will have done some research, and that never hurts."

"Fine! I guess it can't hurt," she said, admitting defeat. Alina was right, the prospect of finding a signature magic for her did sound intriguing, plus maybe she might find something in the process that could help her with the tournament.

"Yay!" Alina shouted and jumped off the bed towards the first stack of books in the room looking for any cool ideas.

Her bed quickly became a fortress of books as the two of them looked through book after book for any intriguing ideas that she could use as a signature magic. Most of the books they searched through had led only to dead ends, and the only idea they had come across that had any promise was ice magic. However, there was already tons of common information on ice magic out there and they even learned some facets of it during their second year so she ruled it out.

After a few hours of getting nowhere, there research was interrupted by the loud tapping of a brown barn owl outside their window.

"Who is it from?" Alina asked her from the bed, as she took the mail from the owl's leg and gave the bird a treat before it flew off. Surprisingly the stack was thick and there were six letters attached. She looked through them.

"Three of them are for you Alina. One is from Marik, another from Harry. And It looks like one is from Hogwarts which means. . . Oh Merlin's mother! Our grades are here!" she announced starting to panic. At the announcement Alina quickly made her way over and snatched the letters from Hermione and quickly ripped them open.

She tried to open the Hogwarts letter, but it was a slow process as her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She was not mentally prepared for this yet. Last year grades weren't sent until after the tournament. They were early this year. After a few seconds of failing she finally opened up the letter.

 _Hermione Granger,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Second year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _M_ _1_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _3_

 _Transfiguration:_ _O_ _2_

 _Potions:_ _M_ _1_

 _Dark Arts:_ _O_ _4_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _2_

 _Spell Creation:_ _O_ _2_

 _Overall Student Rank: 1_

 _Based off of your grade report you will be allowed to continue your education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as advance to Third year courses in all of your previous classes. In your third year you will also have the option to add any additional electives you wish to take to your schedule. If you chose to add any electives please write back as soon as possible with your desired schedule._

 _You will also receive special recognition during the opening ceremony due to your performance, grades, and class ranking. Further information will be given to you during the opening ceremony. Many congratulations on earning outstanding marks to go along with an outstanding rank._

 _Your current Third year class schedule can be found on the second paper in this letter. A list of all the required third year supplies has also been added. I and the rest of the Hogwarts staff congratulate you and look forward to seeing you again for your second year._

 _P.s._

 _Way to make Ravenclaw proud. I knew you would be worried about your grades and did not want you to have any distractions for the tournament so I made Albus send out the owls a few days earlier this year. I, and the entire house of Ravenclaw are rooting for you! I personally look forward to seeing you again next year._

 _Your Head of House,_

 _Filius Flitwick_

She was speechless. She could not believe what she was actually seeing. She was sure the smile on her face was one of the biggest ones she had ever had in her entire life. She had been ranked number _one_ at Hogwarts for her year! She had beat Cho, Padma, Daphne, Harry, and even Marik! She could not believe it.

"Oh my god!" her daydream was interrupted as she heard Alina beside her. Alina had dropped her letter and had a face of pure shock on her face.

"What is it Alina?' she asked, looking worried. Alina didn't say anything but instead just looked at the letter on the floor. She knew Alina was nervous about her grades since she had started the year off rocky, but her reaction to her grades made things look real bad. Hermione picked the letter up off the ground and looked at what it was that had her friend looking so shocked.

 _Alina Black,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _First year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _3_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _2_

 _Transfiguration:_ _M_ _1_

 _Potions:_ _M_ _1_

 _Dark Arts:_ _M_ _1_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _3_

 _Spell Creation:_ _O_ _2_

 _Overall Student Rank: 1_

"Oh my god Alina! These marks are incredible. Congratulations!" she wrapped her friend in a huge hug. Alina's marks were truly amazing. They were even better than hers had been her first year. Alina was in the top three for everyone of her classes, had earned _three_ ' _M'_ marks, and was ranked number one in her year too.

"How?" was all Alina said in return. She still looked shocked and in a state of disbelief.

"Oh come on Alina is it so hard to believe? Even with all that happened last year you were still miles ahead of everyone else in your year! Plus the second half of the year no one worked as hard as you did. I'm honestly not surprised at all," she said truthfully. Alina had been in their potions lab just as much if not more than she had in the latter half of the school year.

"Thanks Hermione. I still can't really believe it though. Let me see yours!" Alina seemed to come out of her shock as she took her letter from out of her hands. "Hermione these are amazing! You took the number one spot from Marik! He is going to be so pissed! And all of your marks are incredible too!" Alina jumped around as she spoke. In Alina's excitement she found herself quickly wrapped up in another hug. "Look at us two! The goddess and queen of the fated four being the two number one ranked witches in the school!" Alina said, beaming.

"You are really sticking with this whole fated four thing huh?" she asked sarcastically, laughing at her friend.

"Duh! Why wouldn't I when we are clearly the future of magic. Although they may end up calling us the fated two and their two not top ranked friends at the rate me and you are going!" Alina said, laughing like an evil scientist as she spoke. "The other letters are from Marik and Harry! I bet it's their grades. Let's see how they did," Alina said, as she tore open another one of her letters. Hermione followed her lead and opened up the letter from Harry.

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _First off I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know I haven't been able to write much so far this summer, but I am happy to tell you that I am now back home for the summer so I will be able to write a lot more. I have lots of exciting updates about my trip with my father and Sirius to tell you about, but I want to wait and tell you in person at the tournament. Which speaking of that, unfortunately because of my mother's work we won't be able to get to Germany until the day of the tournament, so I don't think our plan of hanging out the day before will work. I'm sorry again! Please don't kill me!_

 _I'm guessing that by the time you get this Alina is already there so make sure you tell her hi for me. By the way I miss you, and wish that my parents would have listened to my idea to vacation in France for a week too so that we could hang out. Mother wouldn't budge though, and father just said something in French I couldn't understand._

 _Now that I am back home I have started doing a lot of reading ahead in my care of magical creatures book. I was surprised how interesting I am finding the subject. Did you know that this book has a ton of stuff on unicorns that we didn't know already. I am starting to finally get some ideas of what do use my resources for! Keep me updated on all the stuff you are working on in ancient runes. I still haven't decided if I am going to take it or not. I really am seriously thinking about taking spell creations now too, even though I didn't take it my first two years._

 _Anyways I know you are probably having a heart attack from finding out you were ranked number 1, (McGonagall was at the house to help mother with something earlier today and told me), so I will hurry up and end this so you can get back to celebrating. Congratulations by the way! I am proud of you and would not have expected anything less. My grades are attached on the next sheet. I can't wait to see you soon!_

 _Miss you,_

 _Harry_

She couldn't help but pause and smile at Harry's letter. Whenever he wrote to her he always found a way to make her smile and she was happy to hear that he would now be able to write her more. Anxious to see his grades she quickly turned to the second page in the letter.

 _Harry Potter,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Second year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _3_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _2_

 _Transfiguration:_ _M_ _1_

 _Potions:_ _E_ _5_

 _Dark Arts:_ _O_ _3_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _4_

 _Astronomy:_ _M_ _1_

 _Overall Student Rank: 3_

She was proud at seeing the marks Harry had earned. Overall his grades were a lot more consistent than they had been last year and she was happy that all of his hard work had paid off. It was no surprise to see that he had earned ' _M'_ marks in transfiguration and astronomy, however, it was a surprise to see that Snape had ranked him in the top five of potions. Even though Harry was actually very good at potions, Snape had made it clear to them that he was never a really big fan of Harry.

After looking over the letter one more time to make sure she didn't miss anything she went to the last unopened letter in her hand. It was from Marik.

 _Dear 'Mione,_

 _First off it was a simple mistake that anyone could have made. So if you hear any news from the Daily Prophet that someone may or may not have set their house on fire. . . a little bit. . . while practicing writing an ancient rune it wasn't me! Thankfully I did not get in trouble with the ministry and the house is back to normal but yeah. . . I thought my dad was going to kill me. Never try to do runes on your mother's coffee table! Anyways!_

 _One of Kingsley's good friends Marshall Queen just published an interesting article about the skin growing potion he is famous for. It is pretty neat and has a lot of information about changing properties of your brewing supplies to achieve different results. I know that is what Snape has you working on so I figured you would like it. I sent my copy of the article Kingsley gave me._

 _After reading the article I am currently trying to brew a pep-up potion with an enchanted onion instead of flobberworms, I will of course let you know the results. I currently am still focused on ancient runes more than anything else though. After making the. . . small fire. . . My dad isn't letting me practice a lot of the spells I want to, so I'm basically limited now to simple spells and reading. Which sucks! Oh well!_

 _I still have no clue when I will be getting to Germany thanks to my dad's work schedule, but if I find out I will let you know. Can't wait to see everyone there. I attached my grades to the next page, try not to laugh to hard. And I know it was you by the way! You suck! But congratulations. You and Alina don't celebrate too hard!_

 _Your Best Bud,_

 _Marik_

 _P.S._

 _Don't get used to being number one! This is war now!_

She again found herself laughing at her friend's letter. Leave it to Marik to almost burn his house down practicing magic. She was excited to read the article he had sent her later. So far this summer she looked forward to all of Marik's letters because each one usually came with some interesting piece of research or finding in it. Before she looked at the article though she turned to see his grades.

 _Marik Ose,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Second year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _4_

 _Charms:_ _M_ _1_

 _Transfiguration:_ _O_ _4_

 _Potions:_ _E_ _6_

 _Dark Arts:_ _M_ _1_

 _Herbology:_ _E_ _7_

 _Spell Creation:_ _M_ _1_

 _Overall Student Rank: 2_

Again she found herself smiling and proud at Marik's marks, just as she had with Harry's. Marik had again earned three ' _M'_ marks this year, and even more impressive than that he had managed to bring up his potions and herbology ranks quite a bit from last year.

It was still hard to believe that he was ranked second this year and she was ranked first though. She knew he meant what he said in his letter. As hard as Marik always worked, getting beat by her this year would only make him, and Harry as well, work harder in their third year. That just meant she would have to step it up too. A challenge she was more than willing to take.

"Can you believe how good they both did?" Alina broke her train of thought as it seemed she had finished reading her letters.

"I can't believe how good we all did," she said back honestly.

"Harry told me that sis got ranked fourth and was pissed that she got beat again. I wish I was there to see her face when she finds out I got ranked one!" Alina again was smirking.

"I can't imagine her being happy even if she had been ranked one," she said truthfully. The girl never seemed happy.

"True," Alina said, laughing.

"Hermione, Alina! Dinner is ready," they heard her mom call out from outside the room.

"Ugh it's already dinner time! Time is just flying by this summer," she complained, as she headed to the door.

"I know right. I wish we had more time in the summer. I feel like I never have enough time to do anything anymore!" Alina answered following her.

"Time. . ." Hermione stopped suddenly as the thought came to her like a ton of bricks.

"What?" Alina asked. Alina collided into her back as she suddenly stopped in the doorway.

"Alina that's it!" she shouted excited.

"What is it? What are you talking about Hermione?" Alina asked, looking confused.

" _Time_ is my answer!" she said and hurried off towards the kitchen table as quickly as she could. She would try to get through this meal as fast as she could. She wanted to get back to her room and books to start looking things up immediately. She had a great idea.

"So the fated four huh?" she stopped again suddenly, causing Alina to run into her back again.

"Yeah?" Alina said again looking bewildered.

"You the Queen of light, Marik the King of shadows, Harry the god of transfiguration, and me. I will be the goddess of time!"

* * *

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	28. Book3: Chapter 2

**Harry**

The streets all around the Westfalenstadion were more crowded than he could have ever imagined. Everywhere you looked there were witches and wizards walking down the busy streets and gathering in large groups for the tournament. All of the wizarding shops along the mainstreet had their doors opened wide, and the numerous people who were making their way towards the stadium were stopping at each storefront to see what was out on display. All over each of the buildings along the mainstreet Durmstrang Institute and German flags were hanging and waving in support for their country's school of magic. It was a truly a magical sight to behold.

"There they are," he said, pointing to a group of people that easily stood out among the crowd of witches and wizards. In a sea of colorful robes and tall pointed hats Hermione and Marik's family in their normal muggle clothes stuck out like a sore thumb. His friends' families made their way over to the spot his and Alina's families were all waiting. Just like last year they had all decided to meet up outside of the stadium so that they could all find seats together.

"Hey everyone! Man is this something or what?" Marik's dad said to the group as they all exchanged pleasantries and hugs.

"It is quite the spectacle isn't it?" Hermione's mother added. Both of his muggleborn friends' families looked at everything around them in awe and disbelief. He imagined for them it was always hard to still make any sense of their magical world, and only getting to see it a few times each year must make things even more unbelievable.

"Is this your first time in Germany?" his father asked the newly arrived members to their group.

"No Alden was stationed in Germany for about. . . Well I guess Marik was six, so it must have been for just about three or four months before we left for Japan," Marik's mother answered. He had known Marik had moved a lot but he had never known Marik had lived in either Germany and Japan.

"We both visited for a medical conference when we were younger, but it was nothing like this. A lot more white coats instead of all the robes," Hermione's dad answered.

"Germany is actually a lot stricter with its magical laws than Britain and France are, so I would be surprised if you ever even saw wizards out and about here before now. This is only one of the few days each year where Germany's magical citizens are allowed to gather in such large numbers like this," Alina's mother Hemera added to the conversation.

"I didn't know that. Why is it like that?" he asked his aunt, curious about why Germany's laws were stricter than France and Britain.

"Well after the Great War and the second World War ended, the country was divided between two strong factions of wizarding groups. One of the sides was very supportive of maintaining the secrecy of our world, the other was supportive of ending the secrecy. The two sides went at it for years until the current German Ministry of Magic rose to power and unified the country. To avoid the other side emerging again and to protect their country they enforced very strict laws to maintain the secrecy of German wizards," his aunt answered.

"Never in my days would I have thought there were wizards fighting in wars," Marik's dad, the military man, said as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Well now that we are all here, what do you say we get going," his mother said to the group and they all started off towards the stadium.

He found himself in as much awe this time around as he had been in Paris, France last year. Even though he spent practically all of his time now in the magical world it was still truly amazing to see so many wizards and witches all in one place. You could almost feel the magic in the air surrounding all of the people, which reminded him of the similar feeling you got as you walked around the halls of Hogwarts.

The stadium was huge, and there were thousands of different witches and wizards wearing their school uniforms in support for their school's duelists. He, his parents, and even Daphne's family were all wearing their school robes to show support for Hogwarts as well. Although, no matter how good his mother was at charms his father's robes had been pranked so many times during his years at Hogwarts that they were still a little tight on him, and Sirius's robes unfortunately still smelled like dog.

Harry had even transfigured the crest of his own robes to show support, changing the usual four squared crest into a triangle with three equal spaces for his three friends participating; a Ravenclaw space for Hermione, a Slytherin space for Marik, and a Hufflepuff space for Alina. There wasn't a trace of the usual Gryffindor lion anywhere on his robes.

For a while after their dueling tournament at Hogwarts Harry had been upset that he had lost, even if it was to his best friend. After all he was one of the most competitive people that he knew when it came to magic competitions. He had imagined in the weeks leading up to today that he would hate coming here again for the second time not as the champion of his school, but in the end he was happy that three of his friends were in the tournament, and he was ready to give them his full support.

As the day of the tournament had crept closer and closer he had become increasingly more anxious to come here to see them all duel, especially after hearing what they all were practicing over the last few days. Knowing his friends and how the competition had been last year he was surely in store to witness some incredible magic.

"So Miss Granger, did Hermione say anything to you about having to duel Marik if she wins the tournament? She kept avoiding the topic with me in her letters," he asked Hermione's mom.

When it came to talking about the tournament over the summer Hermione tended to not bring up the topic in her letters, only really mentioning briefly a spell or two that she was working on. He wasn't sure if that meant Hermione was nervous or what, but knowing her he knew that she was definitely going to be ready to duel whoever she had to when the time came. Even if that meant she had to beat Marik.

"She didn't say much about it no. Although she was so busy reading and practicing that it is no surprise," Hermione's mother answered. Hermione reading and practicing a lot, who could have imagined that. "Did your son say much more to you about the tournament?" Hermione's mother asked Marik's parents.

"We didn't even know the tournament was in Germany this year instead of France until that device took us here. Imagine our surprise when we ended up here! I swear that boy gets so lost in his books that he forgets to even eat," Marik's mother answered. That did sound exactly like Marik.

"Here we are," Sirius announced to the group as they arrived in view of the stadium's front gate. Their party made their way in and started following the large, slow moving crowds of people wearing Hogwarts robes to their seats. As they made their way into their section he found himself in a state of awe again, just as he had been the year before when he had entered the stadium. The stadium was completely packed!

The entire far section of the stadium was a seemingly endless sea of Durmstrang supporters. He could see hundreds of signs showing their support and just as many enchanted hats singing the Durmstrang school anthem atop of people's' heads. From the side of the stadium he was in he could see the left half of the stands were designated for the Beauxbatons Academy supporters and the right side was designated for Hogwarts.

He followed his dad's lead towards their section, trying to take in everything he could around him. It was hard to believe that there were even more people here this time around than there had been in last year's tournament. Apparently word had gotten out that this was a show you did not want to miss. As they made their way up the Hogwart's section of the stands he recognized many familiar faces.

Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwart's teaching staff were impossible to miss in the front row of their school's section. He could see Dumbledore's beard hanging over the railing, waving in the wind, and McGonagall wearing her usual extra pointy crimson and gold hat. The students and families that filled the rest of the section looked like a wild bunch, like something similar to what you would see in an important Quidditch match. He counted countless people wearing huge animal heads of their houses and one Ravenclaw student even had raven wings that were enchanted to flap on her back as she cheered.

Just like last year the dueling platform down below them was again divided into four sections. This time the left half the platform was split in half between a snow covered biome and another biome that looked like a small village, that had a few small houses spread out here and there. On the right side, the platform was split in half between a biome that resembled sort of a volcanic base with black rocks everywhere and on the other half a safari oasis type biome that had a few scattered trees and small lake in its corner.

Turning his head towards his party he saw as Hermione and Marik's parents were scooting down their row in front of him that they all had expressions that were hard not to laugh at. As unbelievable as all this was to him he could only imagine how surreal it was for them.

"I swear I will never get use to this," he heard Marik's father say as they all found their seats.

"It is truly an amazing world isn't it?" Hermione's mother added, her face still one of shock too.

"So is this year's tournament going to play out the same as last year's?" Hermione's father asked the wizard section of their group.

"For the most part it will yes. The only difference is that the winner of each year will face the winner of last year at the end. So that means to be crowned the champion this year you have to win three duels instead of just two," Sirius answered. Sirius had looked a mixture of the world's proudest parent and the world's most nervous man all day. Sirius had not stopped talking about how proud he was of Alina all summer, and how excited he was to watch _daddy's-little-girl_ win. After the first few weeks it had started to get annoying and Harry was excited that it would be over after today. Although, if Alina won Harry would have to spend the rest of the summer hearing how great Sirius thought Alina had performed.

"Marik tried to explain it but was to distracted to do it well. How many times will he have to duel this year?" Marik's mother asked their group.

"Marik will just duel once. He will duel whoever wins the second year tournament," his mother answered.

"And both Hermione and Alina will be in the second year tournament?" Marik's father asked. It was quite clear Marik had made no attempt to talk to his family about this tournament or Hogwarts at all.

"Hermione is in the second year tournament yes, but Alina will be in the first year's tournament. She is one year behind Marik at school. So Marik will only go against Hermione if she wins," Hemera answered Marik's father.

" _When_ she wins," he added instinctively. Hermione's parents both beamed a smile at him in response.

"So Harry who do you think has the edge between Hermione and Marik? I haven't seen Marik duel in a long time," Daphne surprisingly asked from down there row. It was clear that Daphne was just as pissed as he was for not being in the tournament this year, but surprisingly she seemed to be a little happy to support her sister. Although he wasn't sure if happy was the right word to use. She was probably just a little less angry than normal.

"It's hard to say. Marik is a natural at dueling and he has had a lot more training and practice than Hermione does. But like you saw at Hogwart's tournament, Hermione has gotten a lot better at dueling too, and I'm sure she has at least three plans for whatever Marik throws her way. Plus no one can think under pressure better than Hermione can," he answered his cousin as truthfully as he could.

He really didn't know who had the edge between his two friends. Hermione had beat Marik in quite a few duels during their training sessions last year. On the other hand though Marik never used his shadow magic when he dueled, so who knew if Hermione would be able to find a way to counter it.

"Well I hope Hermione does win the first round so she can hit Marik with a few powerful spells and knock some sense into that boy," Marik's father joked.

"I think that is a lost cause," Harry joked backed in response.

Their group over the next few minutes continued to make small talk and discuss the tournament as the last few spectators slowly made their way into the stadium. As his anxiety began to near its max the Minister of Magic from each of the school's respective country made their way out to the center of the stadium. He felt a bit of anger swell over him at the sight of Minister Fudge. After they made it to the center the largest man, who based on his robes he figured was the German Minister of Magic, quieted the crowd.

"Welcome everyone to the second annual European Magic Students Dueling Championship! I am Adal Weber the Minister of Magic of Germany, and I would like to thank you all for making the journey here today. I wish all the contestants the best of luck, and hope that they all give it their best effort so that we all can witness an even better spectacle of magic than last year! This year's tournament will be directed by Durmstrangs' very own Headmaster Igor Karkaroff. Please give him a round of applause," the German minister announced, and a large bearded man in red robes made his way to the center of the dueling arena.

"Thank you minister. I would again like to thank you for making the journey here. Now without wasting anytime I would like to explain this years tournament rules. In this year's tournament there will be two rounds. There are three representatives who will be dueling in each of the first rounds, one duelist from each school will take part in the first round of the tournament for each year. The first person in the first round to accumulate two wins will be named the rounds winner.

"If after three duels have taken place and no one has achieved victory in two duels a second round will take place and the representative who wins the highest total of duels in that round will be deemed the winner. The names and order of the duels are random. After each duel both participants will get a short break and medical attention. If a duelist is ruled unable to progress the next duel will be disqualified.

"In every round but the first year's round, the winner of the first round will go on to duel the winner from the previous year's tournament. There will be one duel between the reigning champion and the challenger. Whoever claims victory will be crowned the dueling champion for their year and will move on to next year's tournament. We will begin this year's tournament with the first year representatives." Loud cheers erupted from the stands causing the Headmaster to pause again.

"From Beauxbatons Academy your first year dueling champion is Kanami Ewing!" The part of the stands that all of the French spectators were sitting in erupted into loud chants for their school's participant. Everyone in the Beauxbaton's section seemed to have their wands raised and sparks of their school's colors were shooting out into the air overhead like fireworks. A tall looking girl with bright blue hair glided out from under the stands towards the center of the stage as her supporters cheered her on.

"Next, from Hogwarts, your first year dueling champion is Alina Black!" In an instant he, their small group, and the entirety of the Hogwarts section were on their feet. Sirius from a few seats down was the loudest person out of the whole section as he had his wand pressed against his neck amplifying his voice as he cheered his daughter on. Daphne sitting next to him, just tapped a finger to her wrist in an attempt to clap for Alina.

He craned his neck to see over the people in front of him to get a good look at Alina. Alina was practically bouncing to the center of the arena. He could see that she had a grin stretching from ear to ear when she turned around. It appeared she could hear Sirius even from way down there as he could see her cheeks blushing as she waved at the Hogwarts section.

"And last, but certainly not least. From Germany's own Durmstrang Institute. . . Lex Smallings!" Durmstrang's Headmaster seemed to put the most effort into announcing his own schools representative's name. An average sized blonde haired boy made his way to the center of the stage like the two other duelists before him. The much larger German section of the stands had started singing their schools anthem as the boy marched.

"Please give one more round of applause for your three first year dueling champions!" The man announced and again the stands erupted. Unlike the rest of the years the first years would only have one round of dueling since their was no previous year champion. That meant Alina would just have to win two duels, like Marik had last year, to be crowned the winner. The Durmstrang Headmaster cleared his throat and began talking again.

"The first duel of the tournament will be between. . . Alina Black and Lex Smallings!" The Durmstrang and Hogwarts sections erupted again into cheers again. Sirius was again screaming at the top of his lungs.

Alina was in the very first duel. Hopefully she could start things off on a good note. The two duelists made their way to the center of the arena where they were each directed to a side. Alina was given the left half of the platform which meant she had the snowy biome and the small village biome to work with. The Durmstrang boy named Lex was given the other side. After the two opponents bowed they made their way to their starting spots.

Just like last year at the center of the arena was a white light that when it turned green would signal the start of the duel. He crossed his fingers as he fixed his eyes on the light, hoping it would give Alina luck. The arena quieted as all eyes were focused on the light at the center of the platform. It turned green and the duel began.

Alina from her side immediately ran towards the snowy biome side while Lex on his side headed towards the safari oasis biome. Both of them chose to avoid heading for cover on their sides and instead charged straight at the other.

" _Stupefy!"_ Harry heard Alina shout the stunning spell.

" _Ennervate, tempesta!"_ Lex countered her spells. Lex's _ennervate_ countered Alina's powerful _stupefy_ spell and his _tempesta_ spell resulted in Alina's snow covered side of the platform to turn into a blizzard. It was almost impossible to see Alina through all the flurries of white snow now.

" _Geminio, incarcerous!"_ he was sure Hermione was smiling from where she was watching as he heard Alina from within the blizzard cast the spell Hermione had used an ample number of times in her duels. Somewhere in the blizzard, unseen to Lex, Harry knew there were at least four other thought projections of Alina waiting to pounce. With her second spell a flurry of ropes shot out of the blizzard towards Lex from six different directions. At least five of them had to be illusions Harry knew, now to find out if Lex did.

" _Protego totalum!"_ Lex went to his knees as he summoned a large area shield around him. From the size of the shield it seemed that it most certainly took a lot of energy from Lex to cast it. The fact that Lex had chosen to protect the area all around him most likely meant that Lex did not know the other ropes were illusions, or if he did know, he at least did not know which was the real one.

The incoming ropes collided with his shield and disappeared immediately. That left Harry as confused as it did Lex it seemed. Even though a few of the ropes were illusions the real ropes should have still just fell to the ground when they collided with Lex's shield. But all of the ropes disappeared, which was impossible unless. . . Harry smiled when he realised a possible strategy Alina was taking.

 _Smart move._ He thought to himself as his smile and anticipation for Alina's next move grew.

" _Deprimo, expelliarmus!"_ he heard what sounded like six Alinas say from inside the blizzard. At once a huge gust of wind carried all of the flying white snow towards the oasis side of the platform. Somewhere inside of the now streaming jet of white snow was Alina's _expelliarmus_ spell. Harry could barely make out about five streams of light flying through the gust of snow, most of which, if not all of which were probably just the illusion spells.

" _Impedimenta, stupefy!"_ Lex was again countering with spells of his own. His _impedimenta_ spell, while it did not stop the oncoming snowstorm and spells, it did slow them down to a snail's pace, making them fairly easy to dodge. He was also able to send a stunner back at Alina in the process. His spell seemed to not hit anything though as it entered the slow moving blizzard and came out the other side at the same speed.

All of the sudden six Alina's came charging out of the blizzard. Each one of them was running at full speed towards Lex. The smartest part about Alina's decision to charge was that she had each one of her thought projections about fifteen feet away from the next. That meant that Lex would have to either get lucky and hit the right Alina with a spell, or destroy each thought projection individually.

" _Lumos maxima, stupefy!"_ all of the Alina's screamed out in unison. Again it was another smart strategy. Even though five of the _lumos maxima_ and _stupefy_ spells were just illusions when six _lumos maxima_ spells are cast regardless of if they are just illusions it makes it almost impossible for you to keep your eyes open.

" _Protego!"_ Lex threw up a quick shield, it was clear that he was currently blinded and that was the best defense he could muster. The shield was no use though. The fact that their was six charging Alina's meant it was already close to impossible for Lex to know where the real stunner was coming from. That combined with the fact that he was now practically blind only solidified it. As the blinding light disappeared from the stadium all that was left in its wake was Alina standing next to the now unconscious body of Durmstrang's Lex. Alina had won!

Sirius was the first person in the stadium to rise to his feet as he began the stadium's loud cheers for the first duel's victor. Harry and the rest of the Hogwart's section quickly followed his lead. Loud chants for Alina, who was now currently beaming a large smile, could be heard echoing throughout the stands. It was hugs all around their group as Sirius had already began bragging about how well Alina had done. Sirius was right too, Alina had done incredible.

He did his best to explain what had happened to Hermione's family while his mother did the same for Mariks'. Hermione's parents seemed to be proud when he mentioned that Hermione had been the one in to come up with the thought projection strategy. Although, they were still nowhere near as proud as Sirius was. After a short break between the duels the stadium again quieted as a now much less happy looking Durmstrang Headmaster made his way to the center of the arena to announce the next duel.

"The second duel will be between Kanami Ewing and Alina Black!" At the announcement of the next two names again the stands erupted into cheers. Alina would be dueling back to back, which meant that she had a chance to win the entire thing right here and now. Sirius again had his wand to his neck amplifying his voice as he cheered the loudest in the stadium for his daughter.

The two duelists made their way to the center of the platform. He noted Alina again looked confident and was all smiles as she skipped her way to the center. The Kanami girl from Beauxbatons looked a lot more serious and determined as she marched to her spot. The girl's bowed and were sent towards their starting sides. Alina this time would again be starting on the left side of the platform and Kanami was given the right. The girls readied their wands as their eyes looked at the light over head waiting for it to change. The light changed and they were off.

" _Reducto!"_ The Kanami girl without moving sent a high powered blast spell towards Alina.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Alina accepted the challenge and also remained where she had started while she cast her disarming spell.

The blue stream of light coming from Kanami's wand collided with the jet of scarlet light coming from Alina's in the center of the platform. The two spells pushed and pulled at each other as they fought for dominance. Both girls dug in their feet as they balanced themselves and added more power into their spells.

Neither one of the duelists made any attempt to change their tactics for a while as the two of them continued to just try and out power the other with their initial spells. Both of the spells continued to just move around a little in the center but neither one appeared to be letting up.

For at least a full minute the two of them continued their standoff. The Kanami girl began at that point moving her wand around causing her spell stream to send small bursts of magic off towards Alina. Alina quickly countered though and began doing the same on her side. Small bursts of scarlet and blue magic popped all around the stadium but nowhere near either girl, as they were much more focused on maintaining their main magic stream than actually hitting the other. After another few seconds of continuing the power standoff Alina suddenly broke off her spell and started running.

The movement was so quick that Kanami's _reducto_ spell stream continued its path and collided with a large blast into the ground where Alina had been standing moments earlier, sending off a blast snow and rocks from the two biomes.

" _Expelliarmus, confundus, petrificus totalus!"_ The charging Alina sent off a spell chain at Kanami.

" _Stupefy, protego!"_ Kanami tried to counter. However it appeared that the two girl's standoff had drained a lot of Kanami's magical energy. A small powered _stupefy_ spell flew towards Alina who was able to easily dodge the spell at its slower pace. Kanami did not seem to actually have enough juice to throw up a shield though as her _protego_ spell resulted in a small thin shield that barely came up to her knees. This resulted in all three of Alina's spells colliding with Kanami. The girl's wand flew towards Alina as the _confundus_ spell left Kanami confused and the binding spell knocked her stiff on her back.

"SHE WON!" Sirius screamed just as Alina caught the wand out of the air. The Hogwarts section immediately erupted.

"Way to go cuz!" he screamed out, joining Sirius and the rest of the Hogwart's section in their cheers.

"Earning her second win, the winner of the first year tournament in the second annual European Magic Students Dueling Championship is Alina Black from Hogwarts!" the Durmstrang Headmaster announced and the stands went even crazier. Sirius had proud-father-tears streaming down his face as he watched Alina bow to the stands at the center of the platform. Harry noted that she looked exhausted as she bowed. She had clearly used up a lot of magic in the last duel maintaining her initial spell as long as she had. After a good two minute standing ovation they cheers in the Hogwart's section died down and Alina headed of the stage.

They had some intermission time before Hermione and Marik's round would begin to go see and congratulate Alina. A small part of their group all stood up and started making their way to meet Alina.

Overall this year's first year tournament had put on almost as good a show as last year's had. Lex had used a difficult selection of spells throughout his duel with Alina and Kanami had proven that she had a lot of magical power too, just not as much as Alina. They arrived at the duelist greeting area quickly since Sirius had led them in practically a sprint and waited for Alina to come out.

"Alina Congratulations sweetie!" Sirius was the first one to find her as they scanned the room. An exhausted looking Alina was engulfed in a huge hug from her father before she even had time to react.

"Ouch Dad!" Alina groaned from in the hug, Sirius ignored her. Harry couldn't help but smile at how obvious Sirius was making it known that he was proud.

"Congratulations Alina," he said as soon as Sirius finally broke their hug allowing him to give her one as well.

"Thanks Harry! What did you all think?" Alina asked. Even though she was exhausted he could tell she was still obviously excited to hear their thoughts.

"You did amazing Alina," Hemera answered while getting a hug of her own.

"Parents have to tell their kid they did amazing! How did I really do? I almost ran out of juice there in the second duel," Alina announced to their group.

"You did good. Grats sis," Daphne replied, her tone not matching her words.

"Thanks Daph," Alina said, a confused smile on her face.

"Yeah, it was smart of you to break of your spell and charge when you did," he answered her truthfully. From the size and vividness of the color of both Alinas and Konami's spells when they were locked against each other made it clear that both girls had used a lot of power keeping the spells up. If either had hold the spell much longer the duel could have gone either way, depending on who ran out of juice first.

"Yeah, I was surprised I even had enough left for that spell chain, I felt like I was going to faint there at the end," Alina added.

"That use of _lumos maxima_ in the first duel was a clever strategy too Alina. That poor boy looked like a hippogriff in a forest fire," his father added. He always had the worst analogies.

"Thanks Mr. Potter! Can we go up to the stands now? I don't wanna miss any of Hermione's duels! I have to tell her parents how that _geminio_ spell was Hermione's idea too," Alina said in excitement, she was practically dragging Sirius out of the room.

They all followed the seemingly rejuvenated Alina back up to their seats to watch the second year tournament. For the first time that day he felt a sting of nervousness for Hermione as he found his seat.

"So how do you think she is holding up down there?" Alina asked next to him once they sat down.

"I honestly don't know. How did she seem before the tournament?" he asked her.

"Surprisingly confident. She should be though. No one in Europe is smarter than Hermione, and with training buddies like us and Marik I doubt anyone else has had as much experience as she has." Alina answered. Her answer seemed to calm some of the butterflies in his stomach.

"Yeah, you are right. How do you feel right now?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Honestly I am still in disbelief. I knew I could beat that Lex guy a few seconds after we started but that Kanami's strategy came out of nowhere and it threw me off at first. That's why it took me so long to make a move," Alina answered.

"Well you really did a good job. You should be proud and we will make sure that we celebrate your victory," he said with a smile.

"Thanks Harry. It means a lot!" Alina replied and gave him a hug. The stands quieted as the sound signalling for the start of the second round tournament rang. The Durmstrang Headmaster made his way again to the center of the dueling platform.

"It is time to begin the second year's tournament! Before we begin I would like to first bring out the current champion title holder for the second years. From Hogwarts your current second year title holder of champion is Marik Ose!" the Durmstrang Headmaster announced their friend's name and the stands rose to their feet.

Marik made his way out to the center of the platform and threw a few waves to the cheering crowd. Both he and Alina stood up to give a few cheers for their friend, even though it would be at least two duels before he actually dueled.

"Now to announce the three second year challengers that will be dueling to challenge the champion. From Beauxbatons Academy your champion is Fleur Delacour! From Hogwarts your champion is Hermione Granger! And Lastly from the Durmstrang Institute your champion is the Michelle Mueller!" The entirety of the stadium rose to their feet to cheer for their schools champion. All around him the Hogwarts section was shouting for Hermione, who had a serious, determined look on her face. He was too nervous to cheer. As everyone shouted around him he just stared nervously at his friend.

She looked confident. Instead of the normal warm familiar smile that he was used to on her face she wore a face of determination, the type of look that made the long scar on her neck stand out. He crossed his fingers for her. He truly hoped she did well.

He knew even if she downplayed the tournament and what it meant to her, he knew winning this tournament meant the world to Hermione and how competitive she could be. There was no way she would go down easy. The cheers died down after a minute and the the duelists made their way off the platform.

"The first duel will be between Michelle Mueller and Hermione Granger!" The butterflies in his stomach returned again following the announcement of his friend's name. Hermione would be dueling first, that meant no time for her to strategize or warm up.

Hermione was given the left side of the platform while Durmstang's Michelle was given the right. Both girls looked ready for war as they prepared themselves.

"She can do this Harry," Alina whispered from beside him and grabbed his hand, taking it in hers. He nodded back and returned his gaze to the light overhead the platform.

The light changed signalling the start of the duel and without hesitating both duelists were off. Hermione headed quickly towards the snowy side of her platform and Michelle went to the volcanic biome on her side.

" _Stupefy, expelliarmus!"_ Hermione sent off too high powered spells to start the duel off as she ran on her side of the platform.

" _Ennervate, expulso!"_ Michelle countered the _stupefy_ spell and sent an explosion spell back at Hermione as she dodged the disarming spell.

" _Subduco, azuflamen!"_ Hermione countered again with two more powerful spells. The _subduco_ spell stole Michelle's _expulso_ spell and sent it right back at her along with Hermione's second spell, which was a powerful water elemental blast spell.

" _Expulso, accio_ Rocks!" Michelle sent the explosion spell a few feet in front of her. The ground exploded leaving a medium-sized crater in its wake. Michelle quickly followed up the spell by summoning a large number of the rocks from the explosion. She then sent the rocks towards Hermione's incoming spells making them collide at the halfway point of the stadium.

" _Erecto, expulso, deprimo, geminio!"_ Hermione without hesitating sent off another even stronger spell combo at Michelle. After erecting a large pillar of snow Hermione then exploded the pillar and sent it forwards in a wave of wind along with all of the debris towards her opponent. Adding to her strategy she used the _geminio_ spell to create a few extra thought projections of the debris to make it tougher to block.

" _Reducio, reducto, protego!"_ Michelle countered back. She shrank all of the stones headed towards her, including the thought projection pieces, and followed it up by blasting any remaining large pieces. The pieces that made it through all of that found themselves getting deflected off the shield Michelle had summoned. " _Incaendium!"_ Michelle continued casting spells without waiting to give Hermione another chance. Out from the ground underneath the volcanic biome a stream of lava came bursting out. Michelle with her spell controlled the magma and sent it towards Hermione.

" _Glacia carca! Glacia sagittas."_ Hermione chose to defend herself with ice magic. The first spell summoned a prison of ice which trapped and froze all of the magma Michelle had sent towards her inside. Hermione's second spell sent a flurry of ice arrows towards her opponent at high speeds.

" _Incendio!"_ Michelle sent a wave of fire towards the arrows trying to melt them before they hit her.

" _Stupefy, expelliarmus, stupefy!"_ Hermione added another wave of spells right behind her ice arrows.

Michelle still had enough juice in her left to melt a large majority of the arrows headed at her. However she did not have enough time or magic left to block the spells that followed them. One after another Michelle was hit Hermione's three spells and sent flying across the platform. In an instant he, Alina, and the rest of the Hogwarts section were on their feet; cheering as Hermione won the first duel.

"Way to go Hermione!" he couldn't keep himself from shouting as he cheered on his friend.

"I told you she would do it," Alina said. Most of the butterflies had left his stomach but a few remained knowing Hermione was far from done. From the fact that Hermione still had a serious look on her face down on the platform it was clear she understood that too. She still needed one duel to advance to the championship round, and two duels to be crowned the champ.

"Granger's been practicing," Daphne commented as the cheers died down.

"Hermione is _always_ practicing," Harry corrected her.

Hermione left the platform to receive her medical treatment in between duels and he and Alina explained to her parents what just happened while they waited for the announcement of the next names. Apparently Hermione did a much better job of discussing magic with her parents than Marik did with his, because for the most part they actually understood most of what Hermione had done. Harry was still unsure if Marik's parents even knew what a wand was. After what felt like an eternity of waiting the Durmstrang Headmaster made his way to the center of the platform to announce the next two names.

"Durmstrang's second year contestant has been deemed by the medical staff to be unfit to continue participation in the tournament and is therefore disqualified. The next duel was to be between Fleur Delacour and Michelle Mueller but as a result of disqualification Fleur Delacour has been deemed the winner. The next duel will now be between Fleur Delacour and Hermione Granger! The winner of this duel will go on to face the current champion Marik Ose!" the Durmstrang Headmaster announced the names, and the butterflies returned. With the disqualification of Michelle that meant that whoever won this duel would win the challenging round. That meant it was all on the line now.

Hermione made her way over to the right side of the platform this time around and Fleur made her way to the left. Hermione was once again looking all serious and focused. She would have to be to win this.

Fleur had been given the opportunity to see Hermione's first duel and take notes, while Hermione on the other hand, thanks to the disqualification, had not received the same opportunity. They had all watched Fleur duel last year but millions of things could change in a year. All Hermione would have to go off of would be out of date information and instincts. Hermione would have to be smart to win. The light overhead changed and the duelists were off.

" _Stupefy!"_ Both of the girls said in unison as they charged at each other. Both spells collided at the center of the platform and burst in a powerful stream of magic as the girls ran.

" _Expelliarmus, aeriactus, expuslo!"_ Fleur started firing off her first spell chain.

" _Geminio, protego, rubyflamen!"_ Hermione countered with a spell chain of her own. Fleurs first two spells collided with the two thought projections Hermione had produced and Fleur's third spell with Hermione's shield. Hermione had then sent a powerful fire blast spell back at fleur in the meantime.

" _Erecto, accio_ snow _, deprimo!"_ A large chunk of ice erected itself out of the ground in front of Fleur and took the full impact of Hermione's blast spell. Fleur then summoned a large amount of snow from the ground and the blast with her _accio_ spell and with her _deprimo_ spell sent a blizzard flying at Hermione.

" _Gravitas, reducto, stupefy!"_ Hermione increased the gravity a few feet in front of her and all of the snow in the blizzard landed in a large pile in front of her as it found itself unable to escape the intense gravity. Hermione's _reducto_ spell then blasted the pile apart and her _stupefy_ spell went right through towards Fleur.

" _Ennervate, diffindo!"_ Fleur negated Hermione's _stupefy_ spell and aimed her _diffindo_ spell at the ground in front of Hermione. The ground started to split forcing Hermione to run towards the oasis side of her platform.

" _Accio water, fulminous!"_ After escaping the splitting ground Hermione continued to throw spells towards Fleur. With her first spell Hermione summoned all the water from the small pond on her side of the platform. Forming the water into a large orb she sent it right at Fleur. To make things tougher for Fleur Hermione added the lighting spell into the water orb making it a dangerous combo.

" _Finite incantatum!"_ Fleur's spell stopped the ball of water coming towards her but Hermione's lighting spell still continued.

" _Stupefy!"_ Hermione cast another spell.

" _Petrificus totalus, protego!"_ Fleur got off a quick binding spell before summoning a shield just in time to block Hermione's lightning.

" _Protego!"_ he heard Hermione cast.

Hermione's lightning spell collided with Fleur's shield until it disappeared. However Fleur was not able to defend against Hermione's _stupefy_ spell. In a large release of energy the spell collided with Fleur and sent her flying unconscious backwards. Hermione had knocked Fleur out! However it seemed not all was well on Hermione's side.

Apparently Hermione had exhausted a lot of her magical energy so far in the duel as her _protego_ spell was not powerful enough to stop Fleur's binding spell. Hermione's body immediately fell to the ground with a thud as the spell hit her too. The crowd went silent unsure of what this meant. However after a few moments of silence a plethora of gasps could be heard around the stands. Hermione was moving!

Hermione had broken through the bind spell put on her, and was now standing which meant. . . Hermione had won! The rest of the crowd seemed to come to the same conclusion as they all erupted into applause for his friend. Before he could even get his thoughts straight Alina had him wrapped him a hug.

"Hermione won!" Alina kept saying when she released him from their hug. Alina was jumping up in the air pumping her fist in celebration.

"Way to go Hermione!" he added to the loud cheering. Down on the platform Hermione looked utterly exhausted. He could tell even from his seat that she had used up almost all of her magic and would certainly need everyone of the rejuvenation potions she could get before her next duel.

"Harry my boy, do you mind explaining what happened there at the end? We know Hermione used a shield spell, we have seen her cast it before, but why didn't it work?" Hermione's father asked him once the cheers died down a little.

"Witches and wizards only have so much magical energy in them. Just like you get tired from exercising a wizard will get tired from using too much magic. Hermione had used up a lot of her magic already so her shield was a weak one and Fleur's spell went right through it," he did his best to explain it. Hermione's parents seemed to understand as they both nodded.

"How was she able to get up then?" Hermione's mother asked him.

"There is an advanced spell that allows someone to break through binds without saying an incantation or using their wand. It is a very advanced dueling technique. Hermione it seemed had just enough drive left in her to break the binds of Fleur spell."

"Yeah, it is very tough. It took me three months before I was able to break through my first bind and it wasn't even a strong bind. Hermione just broke through a really tough one," Alina added. Hermione's parents both looked proud as they smiled at their answers. Alina was right too. Marik had learned that bind breaking technique from Kingsley and taught it to all of them. Even with all the practice they had done it still was no easy feat to do, especially when low on magic. That only made Hermione's performance that much more impressive.

"Congratulations to you both. But I'm afraid we are going to have to root against Miss Hermione now," Marik's father said to Hermione's parents in front of them. The butterflies returned to his stomach at Marik's father's words.

He had known when Hermione won that she would eventually have to duel Marik, but until now the thought had never really sank in. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to wish them both luck without showing favoritism.

"Harry," Alina said to him, breaking his train of thought. "You root for Hermione and I will root for Marik. That way they both have an equal number of friends rooting for them. Plus I know you want Hermione to win more anyways." She must have been able to tell he was nervous about the next duel.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan," he replied.

"So do you think she can beat him? You know he isn't going to hold back at all," Alina asked, making the butterflies again start churning.

"I think she can," was all he said. He honestly wasn't sure. Marik, as much as he hated to admit it, was truly a natural when it came to dueling.

Hermione on the other hand had improved on her dueling tremendously since last year. And as much of a natural as Marik was, Hermione had her brain on her side.

For the last time of this round of the tournament the Durmstrang Headmaster, Hermione, and Marik made their way to the center of the platform. He noted Hermione looked rejuvenated and ready to go.

"Before we begin the last duel of the tournament please give a round of applause to Hermione Granger for winning the challengers round of the tournament." The Headmaster paused as the stands erupted again. "Now let the final duel of the second year tournament begin!" the Headmaster announced and pointed Hermione and Marik to their sides of the platform.

For the last duel Marik would be starting on the right side of the stage and Hermione on the left. His two friends exchanged a few words and gave eachother a hug before they made their way to their sides. Alina again grabbed his hand as they waited for the duel to begin. The light once again changed and his friends were off.

" _Umbrosio!"_ Right of the back Marik cast his shadow magic spell, which meant he was serious about winning this thing. Hermione on her side of the platform instead of casting a spell put all her energy into running to the small village on her side. Once there she got out of view from Marik, who had already started advancing towards her.

" _Cometas maximum!"_ Marik cast a spell that Harry had never heard before at the sky. The sky seemed to split open and out of it three huge flaming rocks that looked like meteors came raining down towards the town Hermione was hidden in. In the blink of an eye the meteors collided with the three small buildings exploding them all to rubble and sending a wave of debris and magic throughout the stadium. He tightened his grip on Alina's hand as he craned his neck to see if Hermione had somehow managed to defend herself from that powerful spell.

" _Geminio_ charge! _Stupefy, restituo, expelliarmus!"_ Out of the smoke of debris six charging Hermione's with their wands raised and spells firing came charging out towards Marik. Having dueled with Hermione many times before it was clear that Marik knew only one of those was the real Hermione, as well that the _restituo_ spell had nullified the area he was standing in of magic. Reacting quickly Marik moved out of the area of Hermione's _restituo_ spell had been placed allowing him to once again cast magic.

" _Speculum, rensa maho!"_ Now that he was out of the nullified magic zone Marik countered the charging Hermiones. His first spell created two mirrors in front of him and sent Hermione's _stupefy_ and _expelliarmus_ spell back at two of the thought projections. His second spell summoned a large black chain that he shot towards one of the Hermiones. He crossed his fingers and hoped it was a thought projection. Apparently each of the three targets Marik had aimed at were all thought projections as each one of the spells went right through their targets.

" _Incarcerous, stupefy!"_ The three remaining Hermione's continued to charge and cast spells at Marik. Marik however seemed to be prepared for this. The chain he had summoned was still active and he sent it flying sideways towards all three of the Hermiones, who were now close enough to all be caught up in its chains. The long black chain slammed right through two thought projection Hermione's as well as into the last remaining real Hermione who was sent flying twenty feet across the platform following the impact.

As Hermione's _stupefy_ and _expelliarmus_ spell closed in on Marik Marik lifted his arm and summoned a black shadowy figure out of the ground. The shadowy figure in front of him took the full brunt of Hermione's spells and disappeared into a wave of smoke with the explosion. Hermione who was slowly getting back to her feet seemed clearly in some pain from being hit with Marik's chain. Marik began to slowly walk towards Hermione.

" _Stupefy!"_ Marik cast the spell as soon as Hermione got to her feet.

" _Ennervate, glacia sagittas!"_ Hermione countered Marik's spell and sent a wave of ice arrows back at him.

" _Suincendius, yamipulso!"_ Marik's body burst into fire as he allowed each of the arrows to hit him but melt before they did any damage. His second spell was again one Harry had never heard of. Whatever the spell was it sent a high powered stream of black magic towards Hermione.

" _Protego, expulso!"_ Hermione summoned a quick shield and sent an explosion spell back at Marik. Marik's spell collided with Hermione's shield and a huge wave of black magic went bouncing off of it.

" _Sorbeo, umbrocaesa!"_ Marik again countered her spells as he slowly started walking towards Hermione. Hermione's _expulso_ spell collided with Marik's body which seemed to just absorb the spell. With his second spell Marik slashed his wand through the air and a cutting slash of black magic was sent at Hermione.

" _Rest. . ."_ Hermione started to cast the nullification spell a few feet in front of her to block Marik's incoming spell but found herself unable to. A shadowy figure had emerged out of Hermione's shadow and had Hermione's arm firm in its grasp making it impossible for her to do the necessary wand movements for her spell. Unable to defend herself Marik's black slashing spell collided with Hermione and sent her again flying a few feet back across this platform.

He again craned his neck to see if Hermione was somehow getting to her feet once again. This time though she remained on the ground. . . unmoving, and defeated.

* * *

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	29. Book3: Chapter 3

**Alina**

"Okay, okay, dad you are embarrassing me!" she shouted out as she tried to squirm free of her father's hugs.

"That's what dads are for! Daphne come give me a hug too!" her father argued. Thankfully she was released from his grasps though as he directed his attention towards her sister.

"See you over the holiday," Daphne said, turning and practically sprinting onto the Express before their dad could get a hold of her.

"You sure you got everything?" her mother asked her as she picked up her suitcase.

"I hope so. If not I will let you know when I get to school," she replied, going through the mental checklist of what she was supposed to pack one more time.

"Write us soon and let us know how the recognition ceremony goes. And don't forget that we are both so proud of you for being number one," her father told her.

"So try to enjoy tonight, you earned it," her mother added as she wrapped Alina in a final goodbye hug.

"Dad I could never forget how proud you are, you haven't stopped telling me that all summer! I almost want to fail this year just so my next summer can be quiet!" she replied sarcastically.

"One day you will miss me ya know!" he tried to argue.

"I know I will dad. I love you dad, I love you mom," she said, giving them both a kiss on the cheek.

"We love you too Alina. Now go get on the Express before it leaves you here. I can already see your cousin and friend waiting for you," her mother replied, looking at a nearby window of the Hogwarts Express. Marik and Harry both had their faces pressed right up against a window of one of the compartments and seemed to be looking at her and laughing.

"Bye!" she shouted, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment as she pulled her suitcase behind her and boarded the train.

The inside of the Hogwarts Express was as crowded and busy as the boarding area of the train was. All around students were cramming past one another trying to find an open room or their friends. Owls that had escaped their cages were flying between cars and there was even the occasional house rat scurrying atop the compartments overhead.

This year she was a little more excited for the train ride than she had been last year. Instead of having to spend a boring few hours with her sister and her minions this year she would be getting to spend the Express ride with her best friends. It had only been a few weeks since she had last seen them all, but she had long ago already begun to miss them and could not wait to be reunited again with them.

She pushed her way past a group of lost looking first years through to the second car in the line and began looking for the compartment her friends were in. It took looking through two door windows before she found the compartment they were in. After attempting to open the door and failing she pulled out her wand and unlocked the door, pulled it open, and headed inside.

"Awe man she got in," Marik joked as she entered. She made it a point to roll her eyes over dramatically before putting her suitcase on an overhead rack and grabbing the seat next to him.

"It's good to see you to loser!" she argued back.

"You know I'm only kidding," Marik replied and wrapped her in a hug. She smiled as he embraced her and frowned when the hug was quickly over.

"Hey you two," she said, turning to face Hermione and Harry on the seat across from them.

"Hey cuz," Harry replied, a smile on his face.

"Hi alina!" Hermione added, a book already open on her lap.

"I don't think you got enough kisses and goodbyes from your parents," Harry said sarcastically.

"Yeah, for real. I thought you were about to bring them with you at the rate yall's goodbye was going," Marik added, a joking grin lit on his face.

"Sorry that I love my parents unlike some people!" she argued back.

"Oh stop it! You know I love my parents too! I just get tired of explaining to them what a wand is," Marik replied, leaning back in his seat.

"How was the rest of your summer since we last talked Alina?" Hermione asked her. Alina tried to think of what all had happened since the last letter she had written to Hermione.

"It was good I guess, slow but good. I think all I really did was go to Diagon Alley to get more supplies and books. Other than that I didn't really do much but work at home," she answered.

"Did you hear what happened to Harry? He almost didn't get to come this year," Marik said. Her ears perked up at this comment, she had not heard anything about Harry.

"You are being overdramatic Marik!" Harry tried to argue.

"Did another crazy house elf come to visit you?" she asked, curious to know what had happened.

"I am not being overdramatic!" Marik tried to argue back, ignoring her question.

"I swear sometimes it's like I'm not even here," she mumbled out, causing Hermione, who had been the only one to hear her, laugh.

"Anyways, like I was trying to say before I was rudely interrupted, Harry was trying to practice his _occlumency_ and was off somewhere in his own head. . ." Marik started to explain.

"Off somewhere in my own head! Could you describe it any worse?" Harry interrupted.

"Oh well you tell her the story if you think you can do it better!" Marik replied, folding his arms with a dramatic _huff_ as he spoke.

"You remember the section of _Minds Magik_ that I showed you and we talked about last time you were over at my place?" Harry asked her.

"The one on organizing and defending your thoughts and memories against future _legilimens_?" she asked, trying to remember the conversation. She remembered asking Harry about _legilimency_ and _occlumency_ because she had wanted to learn it, but do to her busy schedule and the amount of work she already had on her plate had chose to put off the subject for a while.

"Yeah, that one. Well I was in a static state, organizing and separating my thoughts, dreams, and memories apart from one another," Harry started to explain again.

"When he sneezed," Marik interjected, laughing at his own words. Alina heard Hermione snickering a little. She had apparently heard this story already.

"You sneezed?" she asked, turning to Harry and confused about the sudden turn in the story.

"I sneezed," Harry replied, looking embarrassed. Alina still had no clue what was going on with this story.

And. . .?" she asked.

"Well when you are in a static state you aren't supposed to get interrupted by anything. So when I sneezed it ended up shooting my mind into a part of my head I had not organized yet. I had been stuck in a memory of watching my dad's old Quidditch team play for five hours before my mother found me in my room and shook me out of it. If I had been alone or in my room at Hogwarts I could have been stuck like that for weeks!" Harry explained the rest of the story and finally Alina joined in on the laughter of the other two in their compartment.

"That is the funniest mistake I think I have ever heard of," she said, trying to stop her giggling.

"Yeahs yeah, I know," Harry replied, laughing a little at his own mistake.

"Well did you at least make any progress with it?" she asked after their laughter died down a little.

"Not much unfortunately after that; I've been too nervous to try again since then too," Harry replied as the train lurched forward, signalling their departure from King's Cross Station. She removed herself from the conversation momentarily to turn to face out the window to give her parents one last goodbye wave. She smiled as she found them at the edge of the station and saw them waving back.

"And at last we are off!" Hermione said, sounding anxious.

"I wonder how big this year's first year class is. Last year was pretty small compared to our year wasn't it?" Harry asked.

"I think mine was sixty-four less than yours. I saw a bunch of first years on my way here though so who knows," she replied as she pulled out the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. As he always did, Marik immediately shot his hand out silently asking for a handful. She poured him a small pile.

"I gave my dad a earwax flavored one the other day, thought he was going to kill me after he stopped gagging," Marik said, laughing a little at his own story as he popped a jelly bean into his mouth. Alina searched through her box to find one of her favorite cherry beans and popped it into her mouth.

"My mom hasn't eaten jelly beans in fifteen years after my father gave her a vomit flavored one," Harry added.

"Speaking of your mom Harry did she ever find her old charms notes? I know in your last letter you said she was going to give them to you if she did," Hermione asked Harry, looking up from her book as she did.

"She found some, but most of it is probably buried in the attic somewhere. I packed the ones she found in my trunk and can show them to you later," Harry answered.

"Ooh I wanna see those too! Wasn't your mom like first in charms every year back in her day?" she asked.

"Not every year, but her last few years she was. She was actually a lot better and more interested in potions in her first few years," Harry answered.

"You would think with a mother who was good in potions and charms that you would have at least gotten one of those good genes," Marik joked.

"I'm sorry what was that? I couldn't hear you over my higher potions rank!" Harry argued back, a triumphant smirk lit across his face.

"Yeah yeah yeah, that's because Snape doesn't like me!" Marik tried to argue back.

"Snape doesn't like anyone to be fair," Alina added, discounting Marik's attempted argument.

"Did any of you read the article in the Quibbler about Snape yesterday?" Hermione asked them at the mention of their potions professor.

"Why are you reading the Quibbler?" Harry asked her, looking perplexed.

" _Because_ with news it is always important to receive all sides of a story so that you can form an opinion of your own! While I will admit The Quibbler sometimes is a little. . . out there, it does publish articles that the Daily Prophet won't since it's ran by the ministry," Hermione answered.

"Well what did it say?" she asked. It was always interesting to hear stories or read articles about their professors outside of school. It was hard to imagine them living normal lives, but many of them were leading experts in their fields and a few were even famous in certain subjects. Professor Flitwick for example outside of school was not only one of the most famous duelists in all of Europe but was also the director of Britain's largest wizarding choir.

"Professor Snape was awarded the Brewer's Award over the summer. The Quibbler said that he refused to come to the ministry and accept the award though," Hermione replied.

"What is the Brewer's Award?" Marik asked Hermione the same question she had been about to ask.

"It's a ministry award given to the brewer that in their opinion has the most outstanding achievements in the subject of potion brewing over the year. It's normally given to famous brewers that develop and research potions full time, but this was the first year in over fifty-three years that a potions professor has received the award," Hermione answered Marik.

"Why did they give it to him?" she asked, curious to know.

"Well The Quibbler was more focused on the conspiracies of why Snape refused to accept the award, but it mentioned that one of his seventh year students discovered two new uses for squid scales in _wound healing potions_ and one of his sixth years invented an entire new and more efficient recipe for the _calming draught,"_ Hermione replied.

"I wonder why he refused to accept the award," Harry commented.

"He probably is like us and knows the Minister is trash," Marik replied. She could sense a little venom in his words.

The rest of the train ride to Hogwarts carried on much faster than it had during her first year. Their compartment throughout the entire trip was filled with conversations, debates, and gossip about the upcoming year at Hogwarts. She enjoyed every minute of it and tried to soak in as much of the familiar feeling of being home as she could. She had missed this over the summer. No amount of letters written or read could compete with actually being with her friends.

At the midpoint in the heated discussion between Harry and Hermione on the effects of _pep-up potions_ versus _energy potions_ the Express pulled into the familiar scenery, and Hogwarts Station came into view.

"Finally!" Marik announced, interrupting the debate in their compartment as he stood up to stretch. Alina followed his lead and kicked the cobwebs out of her muscles.

"So I guess I never thought to ask but how do we get up to the castle now?" she asked. She had only ever taken the boats up to the castle, and now that she thought of it she knew that was only how the first years got to the castle.

"You are such a rookie," Harry joked. If she had been close enough she would have hit him.

"We can either take the carriages up to the castle or walk. Last year we all walked," Marik answered her as he opened the door to their compartment.

"What do you guys want to do this year?" she asked them as they all filed out of their compartment out into the busy walkway of the Express. All around them students were coming out of their compartments making their ways towards the exit.

"I want to walk again, I enjoyed the view last year," Hermione was the first to answer as they slowly made their way off the train and onto the platform outside.

"Walking it is!" Harry said and led them away from the stagnant group of students waiting for the carriages to arrive. They made their way over to a wide dirt trail that led up the cliffside. She fell into line next to Hermione as they started off towards the school.

"Looked like there will be quite a few first years this year," Marik said.

"Which means the Sorting ceremony is going to take forever!" Hermione groaned. Alina's stomach joined in on the groan, she had forgotten how hungry she had been last year waiting for all of the ceremonies to end and the feast to begin.

"The Sorting ceremony feels so slow when you aren't getting sorted too. Last year felt like it took three hours," Harry added.

"The sorting part flew by for me. It was all the special recognition ceremonies that went slow to me," she replied as the path took a sharp turn to the left.

"That part will go buy quicker this year too. Especially since you will be getting recognized for like half of your classes in your year," Marik said.

"You will be getting recognized in just as many as I will be Marik," she argued.

"You're damn right I will. High-five for team three ' _M_ 's!" Marik joked, giving her an over exaggerated high-five. She laughed as her hand hit his.

"Team number one is a lot cooler than team three ' _M's_ ," Hermione argued, and gave Alina a sarcastic, exaggerated high-five of her own.

"You both are dead to me," Marik mumbled out in a groan. She and Hermione both fell into laughter as they continued up the path.

The walk to the castle was a fairly short one and the path led them straight up to the front gate. Most of the students had yet to arrive at the castle and the entrance hall felt empty as they entered. She followed her friends through the doors and they made their way into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall looked every bit magnificent as it usually did. Walking into it after a summer of being away felt almost as incredible as it had the first time she had set foot into the Hall. The four house tables were slowly being filled as students trickled into the Hall, and their professors were all sitting patiently up at their table on the other side.

"We doing Ravenclaw table again?" Harry asked their group.

"Of course, it's the best after all," Hermione answered as she led them down the Hall towards the Ravenclaw house table.

"It can't be called the best if it's the only one we have ever sat at before," Harry tried to argue. They found an open spot at the Ravenclaw table and took their seats. Alina was surprised that they were allowed to sit wherever they wanted during the opening feast.

"No new faces on the teacher's table," Hermione said as they sat down and got comfy.

"Guess that means we are stuck with Binns again this year," she groaned. Professor Binns was by far her least favorite professor.

"I'm interested to see how good Hagrid is at teaching. It's hard to imagine him lecturing a class," Harry added. In your third year at Hogwarts you were given the choice to add more electives to your schedule and were also given the opportunity to take care of magical creatures or ancient runes. Harry and Hermione both would be taking care of magical creatures with Hagrid this year and Alina had to agree with Harry, it was hard to imagine the half-giant teaching a class.

"I bet he will be good. We've seen him with at least fifteen different weird looking beasts and creatures since our first year so I'm sure he knows what he is talking about," Marik replied.

"I hope so, I'm actually really excited for care of magical creatures this year," Harry added.

They all made small talk for the next few minutes as the rest of the students made their way into the hall. Slowly the house tables started to fill up until only a small section for first years remained empty in each. The Great Hall filled with footsteps after that as the large group of first years entered nervously into the Hall and marched down the row between the two center tables.

It felt weird being on the outside looking in this year. It felt like it had been years since she had been one of those first years with eyes darting around the Great Hall in a mixture between awe and fear. All of the first years looked so little and fragile, and she found it difficult to believe that she was only one year ahead of all of them.

"Two rolls of parchment says that round kid in the front faints," Harry whispered as the first years arrived at the front of the hall and spread out. Alina turned her eyes to meet where his were looking and saw a small, round looking brown-haired boy shaking nervously in his robes. It was hard not to laugh a little at the sight.

Professor McGonagall began her announcement to the first years as Dumbledore levitated a stool to the center of the Great Hall. Following the end of McGonagall's announcement the Hall fell to silence as the Sorting Hat appeared atop the stool and began to sing:

 _In times of old, when I was new,_

 _And Hogwarts barely started,_

 _The founders of our noble school_

 _Thought never to be parted._

 _United by a common goal,_

 _They had the selfsame yearning_

 _To make the world's best magic school_

 _And pass along their learning._

 _"Together we will build and teach"_

 _The four good friends decided._

 _And never did they dream that they_

 _Might someday be divided._

 _For were there such friends anywhere_

 _As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

 _Unless it was the second pair_

 _Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,_

 _So how could it have gone so wrong?_

 _How could such friendships fail?_

 _Why, I was there, so I can tell_

 _The whole sad, sorry tale._

 _Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_

 _Whose ancestry's purest."_

 _Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose_

 _Intelligence is surest."_

 _Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_

 _With brave deeds to their name."_

 _Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot_

 _And treat them just the same."_

 _These differences caused little strife_

 _When first they came to light._

 _For each of the four founders had_

 _A house in which they might_

 _Take only those they wanted, so,_

 _For instance, Slytherin_

 _Took only pure-blood wizards_

 _Of great cunning just like him._

 _And only those of sharpest mind_

 _Were taught by Ravenclaw_

 _While the bravest and the boldest_

 _Went to daring Gryffindor._

 _Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest_

 _and taught them all she knew,_

 _Thus, the houses and their founders_

 _Maintained friendships firm and true._

 _So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

 _for several happy years,_

 _but then discord crept among us_

 _feeding on our faults and fears._

 _The Houses that, like pillars four_

 _had once held up our school_

 _now turned upon each other and_

 _divided, sought to rule._

 _And for a while it seemed the school_

 _must meet an early end._

 _what with duelling and with fighting_

 _and the clash of friend on friend._

 _And at last there came a morning_

 _when old Slytherin departed_

 _and though the fighting then died out_

 _he left us quite downhearted._

 _And never since the founders four_

 _were whittled down to three_

 _have the Houses been united_

 _as they once were meant to be._

 _And now the Sorting Hat is here_

 _and you all know the score:_

 _I sort you into Houses_

 _because that is what I'm for._

 _But this year I'll go further,_

 _listen closely to my song:_

 _though condemned I am to split you_

 _still I worry that it's wrong,_

 _Though I must fulfil my duty_

 _and must quarter every year_

 _still I wonder whether sorting_

 _may not bring the end I fear._

 _We must unite inside her_

 _or we'll crumble from within_

 _I have told you, I have warned you..._

 _let the Sorting now begin._

"Well that was warm and cheery," Hermione exclaimed as the Hall erupted into applause for the Sorting Hat and its song.

"Still a better history teacher than Binns though," she commented. If professor Binns taught history like the Hat told them about the history of Hogwarts history of magic would easily be her favorite subject.

"Well that song explains why we are allowed to sit together even though we are in different houses," Harry whispered as they all stopped their applause.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The Hat says uniting the houses is important. Even though we have to get sorted into different houses Hogwarts is supposed to be united. We are an example of that. One person from each house all united together," Harry replied.

She had never really thought about that, or even noticed it to be honest. Each one of them was in a different house though, not a single one of their small group of friends was in the same house. Her train of thought was cut short as McGonagall pulled out a long scroll of parchment and began sorting the first years into their houses.

Her friends had been right, when you weren't being sorted the Sorting Ceremony felt twice as long. Her stomach had already started to growl before McGonagall had even made it through the ' _F_ 's. Thankfully though she somehow managed to make it through the entire Sorting Ceremony without dying of hunger or falling asleep from boredom.

"Welcome, and congratulations to all of our new first years. We wish you all the best of luck and the greatest of magic. Now, before we all dive into the opening feast we will begin the Special Recognition Award Ceremony. Professor McGonagall will announce last year's first year honors," Dumbledore announced to the Hall and professor McGonagall made her way to the center podium.

"You ready?" Marik whispered to her.

"Yeah, I am," she answered him with a smile.

"Congratulations again Alina," Marik whispered again to her.

"Thanks Marik, you too," She replied, unable to stop her smile from growing.

She knew she was going to be recognized for her marks today. She had been ready for this moment for a year now. Even back a year ago when she had watched Marik, Hermione, and Harry all receive honors and recognition for their marks she had known that she wanted to be just like them. Today she would be. She had worked her ass off last year to be known as one of the bests, today she would be.

"While I am announcing the following honors we ask that if your name is called that you please come up to the front of the teacher's table. First I will begin with subject awards. In Herbology, the student who received the title of Master of the course was Luna Lovegood," McGonagall announced and the Ravenclaws around them stood up and erupted into applause as their housemate made her way up to the stage.

Luna Lovegood was not one Alina's favorite people in the school. Alina shared almost all of her classes with the Ravenclaw girl and the blonde girl had become her biggest competition in all of their classes. Luna was nice, almost too nice most of the times, but even still she just rubbed Alina the wrong way sometimes.

"Due to your abilities shown in the course combined with your grade and end of year project professor Sprout as decided to give you private lessons this year on the subject. Congratulations. In Astronomy the student who received the title of Master in the course was also Luna Lovegood," McGonagall announced the next Master title and again the Ravenclaw table stop up and erupted into applause.

"I didn't know Luna was that good," Hermione commented as Luna did a curtsey at the front of the hall.

"Meh," was all she replied with as professor McGonagall continued.

"In History of Magic the student who received the title of Master in the course was again, Luna Lovegood," McGonagall announced and again for the third time the Ravenclaw burst into an even louder round of applause. Luna was beaming a huge smile at the front of the Hall.

"Damn, three ' _M_ ' marks. That means she was practically even with you Alina. You must have barely squeezed out the number one rank," Marik said as she applause in the Hall died down. His comment annoyed her.

 _Screw Luna freaking Lovegood._ She thought to herself as she watched the blonde-girl curtsey another time.

"In charms, the student who received the title of Master in the course was Ginny Weasley," McGonagall announced the next name and this time the Gryffindor table stood up to give their housemate applause.

"Wow, who would have thought a Weasley would earn a Master ranking," Marik commented as they watched Ginny march to the front of the hall.

"You saw how good she was at the dueling tournament last year so it shouldn't be much of a surprise," she replied. She had never shared a class with Ginny before but through reputation alone she knew that Ginny was no joke when it came to spellcasting and was certainly nothing like her brothers.

"Due to your performance and abilities shown throughout the year professor Flitwick has decided to give you private lessons this year on the subject. Congratulations." Ginny's normally stoic face allowed itself a small smile as the Hall again cheered for her.

"In spell creations, the student who received the title of Master in the course was also Ginny Weasley," McGonagall announced to the Hall.

"What spell did she create?" Marik asked her curiously.

"I don't really remember to be honest. I think she just did something with blast spells or something," she answered, trying to wrack her brain and remember Ginny's spell creations end of year project.

"It's your time to shine now Alina!" Hermione whispered as the applause for Ginny again died down.

"In transfiguration, the student who received the title of Master in the course was Alina Black." As soon as McGonagall called her name out a large smile grew on her face. She was hopeless in trying to keep it down. All around her Marik, Hermione, and Harry were wrapping her into hugs and congratulating her as the Hufflepuff section cheered her on at the same time.

After getting a hug from each of her friends she made her way to the front of the Hall, her cheeks already hurting from smiling so much. By the time she arrived at the front of the Hall the applause for her had begun to die down.

"Due to your abilities shown throughout the course _I_ have decided to provide you with private lessons on the subject. Do not make me regret my decision!" Mcgonagall told her, an evil looking grin on her face. Alina could only gulp nervously and nod her head in response to her transfiguration professor's words.

 _Merlin she could be scary when she tried to be._ She thought to herself.

"In potions, the student who received the title of Master in the course was also Alina Black," Alina found herself blushing even more as she watched the students applaud her another time. Marik and Harry apparently were trying to cheer for her as obnoxiously as they could and the entire Ravenclaw table was watching them in shock.

"Due to your promise and potential shown professor Snape has deemed you worthy of receiving private lessons with him this year. Good luck," Alina was in disbelief at McGonagall's words.

Never in a thousand years had she ever guessed that Snape would want to give her private lessons. Sure she had been pretty good at brewing potions and earned the Master rank in the course, but that had been mainly because of the help of Hermione. Snape had given her probably three compliments in the entirety of last year, so hearing that he deemed her good enough to spend extra time with her blew her mind.

"And last but not least, in dark arts, the student who received the title of Master for the course was again, Alina Black. Please give a round of applause for all of our first year Master ranked students," The entire Hall rose to their feet to give her, Ginny, and Luna another round of applause.

"Congratulations to each of you for achieving the highest ranks in each of these courses. Before we move onto second year I have three more quick things to announce. Luna Lovegood, in response to reading your research on Thestrals for your history of magic end of year project the Ministry of Magic has granted you a research grant in order for you to continue your research further. Congratulations.

"I would like everyone in the hall to give a round of applause for Alina Black for being named the first year dueling champion of the EMSDC over the summer. Due to your abilities and performance during the European Magic Students Dueling Championship over the summer professor Flitwick will be giving you private lessons on dueling over the year as well. Congratulations," Again, Alina found herself in a state of disbelief. She would be getting private lessons in three different areas this year, dueling, potions, _and_ transfiguration. Already this year was looking like it was going to be a difficult and extremely busy year.

"Lastly, you three have won your house fifty points for each ' _M'_ mark that you received. Congratulations. That is all the awards for the first years. You three may be seated," Alina slowly made her way back from the front of the Hall towards the Ravenclaw table. Her mind already racing, full of thoughts. A year ago she would have killed for private lessons, now though she was worrying out of her mind that she was going to be too busy,

"Congratulations Alina!" Marik was the first to meet her as she found her spot at the table and sat down next to him.

"Looks like we won't be seeing much of you this year," Hermione added.

"I'm so screwed!" Was all she managed to get out as professor McGonagall made her way back to the teacher's table and professor Flitwick walked towards the center podium.

"No your not Alina. All of the time you spend in private lessons this year will make next year so much easier," Harry argued, his words calmed her a little.

"I hope you are right Harry. Enough of me worrying though, it's you guys's time to shine now!" she changed the subject, excited for her friends to get the recognition they deserved too. The Hall again quieted as professor Flitwick began to speak.

"Congratulations again to all of our first years. I'm sure you are all starting to get hungry so I will do my best to speed things along. First I would like to ask our top five ranked students from last year's second year class to come to the front when I call out your name. Ranked fifth, from Ravenclaw, Cho Chang! Ranked fourth, from Slytherin, Daphne Black! Ranked third, from Gryffindor, Harry Potter! Ranked second, from Slytherin, Marik Ose! And the number one ranked student, from Ravenclaw, Hermione Granger!" Flitwick read out the names and the entire Hall again rose to their feet.

Alina did her best to give each of her friends a bear hug as their names were called out and they made their way to the front. She laughed a little as she watched Marik and Hermione have a little argument about her beating him as they both walked.

"Congratulations to the five of you on being named the top five ranked students for two years in a row. Now for class awards. I would first like to ask Neville Longbottom to make his way up here. Neville achieved the title of Master for the second year straight in the course of Herbology," Neville, looking as pale as he had last year, clumsily made his way to the front of the Hall to the cheers of the Gryffindor table.

"Professor Sprout looks forward to continuing her private lessons with you this year Neville. I would next like to recognize Harry Potter. Harry received the Master ranking for two courses this year, transfiguration and astronomy. Please give him a round of applause!" Alina was the first to rise to her feet as Harry was recognized. She did her best to cheer as obnoxiously as he had when her name had been called. Harry smiled proudly and was engulfed in two hugs from Hermione and Marik.

"Professor McGonagall looks forward to continuing her private lessons with you again this year. I hope you will be happy to hear that I have also decided that I wish to provide you with private lessons in charms this year due to the potential you have shown in the subject. I look forward to working with you more Harry," Her shouts grew even louder at that announcement.

Her and Harry had never been close growing up, however over last year and the summer the two of them had grown astoundingly closer. She knew how much Harry had worked his ass off in charms and transfiguration last year. From what Hermione told her Harry's presentation of his _occlumency_ and _legilimency_ charms project had been so good that Hermione had honestly thought Harry might steal the Master title from Marik.

She knew very little of the mind magic Harry was diving into, but she did know enough about it to know that the fact that Harry could do as much of it as he could already meant that he was no joke when it came to charms. She was happy for him that he would be getting private lessons in the subject now too, that meant he would only get better. Marik would have to watch out for Harry this year in charms that was for sure.

"Next I would like to recognize Marik Ose. First let us all give Mr. Ose a special round of applause for being crowned the champion of the EMSDC for the second year straight, a title that is one of the more prestigious ones in all of Europe!" Alina again was the first on her feet. She did her best to whistle loud enough for her best friend to hear. She could see the look of distaste on Hermione's face as the Hall clapped for Marik but she didn't care. Hermione could be and should be upset that she had lost the tournament. Alina felt bad for her but Marik deserved recognition and applause for his achievements.

"Marik received three Master marks for the second year in a row in charms, dark arts, and spell creation! Please give him another round of applause," Flitwick announced. Alina giggled a little as she watched Marik bow to the crowd of students. Her sister was rolling her eyes and looking pissed off as he did.

"Professor Shacklebolt and myself have both decided to continue our private lessons with you this year in dark arts, charms, and dueling with you this year as well. As well professor Yarnsley has decided that he would also like to give you private lessons in spell creations this year. We all hope that you continue performing at a high level and do not slow down in your studies," It looked like Marik would have about as much free time this year as she would.

"And last, but certainly not least I would like for everyone to give a very large round of applause for Hermione Granger! Hermione not only achieved the number one rank in her year, received two Master marks, but was also the runner up in the EMSDC this past summer," she again did her best to make her shouts and cheers heard.

"Hermione achieved Master marks in history of magic and in potions. Please give her another well-deserved round of applause," The Ravenclaw table rose to their feet one last time to cheer on their housemate.

"Professor Snape would like to continue your private lessons this year and looks forward to working with you again. I would also like to inform you that you will also be receiving private lessons in charms with me this year. Congratulations, and I look forward to working with you," Flitwick told Hermione with a smile.

The Hall erupted into another loud burst of applause as the second year's Special Recognition Award Ceremony came to a conclusion and everyone made their way back to their seats. Alina remained on her feet, clapping the entire time as her sister and friends walked back.

"We are so screwed," Hermione was the first to speak as they all sat down again and the third year ceremony began.

"Yup. We are dead," Harry added, looking defeated. Marik's head fell to the table with a loud thud next to her.

"Oh shut up! You wouldn't let me be gloomy when I said I was screwed! I'm not letting you guys be gloomy either!" she whispered angrily at them.

"Mmpff." she heard Marik mumble from his spot on the table.

"McGonagall sure wasn't lying that's for sure," Hermione admitted, she too looked worried.

"You got that right," Harry replied.

"So what if this year is going to be tough! We are tough! And we are the best there is at Hogwarts! No matter how tough this year gets we will all have each other to help out. And besides no matter how tough things get and no matter how bad we do in our classes we will at least never be as bad as Marik is!" she joked, trying to bolster their spirits. Thankfully Hermione and Harry laughed. Marik's head stayed on the table but he rolled it to the side to look at her.

"Ass," was all he said as he rolled his head back facedown on the table.

* * *

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	30. Book3: Chapter 4

**Marik**

"Cheers to the first free day for us all year!" Alina proclaimed, raising her glass of orange juice up into the air. With smiles all around they joined her, raising their own glasses.

"Although I wouldn't really proclaim a day about to be spent studying, working, and practicing magic as much as we usually do a free day," Harry added.

"Any day I do not have to be sitting in a classroom for half the day or getting demolished by Flitwick is a free day," he said, grabbing a biscuit from the tray in front of him. He stole the butter basket from Alina while she was occupied with the eggs on her plate.

It was hard to believe that it was already November and that today was the first day that the four of their schedules lined up to allow them all to hang out together. They all still spent plenty of time with each other so far throughout the year, but it never seemed possible to get them all in the same room together at the same time. He passed back the butter basket to Alina after she noticed it was missing and had given him a death glare.

Professor McGonagall had not been lying to them when she had warned them that third year is where the true challenge at Hogwarts began. Marik had decided over the summer to only add ancient runes to his schedule, which on its own would not have made his life too much harder, however the addition of a new class along with the professors who seemed to have it out to kill him did make his life much harder.

Since he had been crowned the European Magic Students Dueling Champion two years in a row Flitwick had come to the conclusion that he now needed double the practice in dueling. That meant that two days a week for four hours each session he was dueling with Flitwick, along with another day with the charms professor dedicated solely to charms practice. Apparently to the professor winning the EMSDC two years in a row meant unfortunately that he also got double the effort Flitwick normally put into their sessions, which hurt. . . a lot. . .

Flitwick wasn't the only professor who seemed to be out for his head though. Kingsley had also decided to amp up their private lessons. Two more days throughout his week were filled with lessons, researching, and practicing of all things dark arts. Luckily for Marik though, at least so far this year none of their training had involved anything as painful as bind-breaking. He still shivered when remembering their training lessons on the subject from last year.

Much to his surprise professor Yarnsley had asked him to do private lessons in spell creations again this year. Unlike last year when the professor had him only doing tedious tasks and research that felt more like busy-work, this year though they had already delved into some pretty advanced stuff. Yarnsley, who had come into the year as one of his least favorite professors, only getting beat by Snape and Binns, had moved his way up to one of Marik's favorite professors this year.

Yarnsley had proven quickly this year that he really knew what he was talking about when it came to spell creation. Not only had Marik find out this year that Yarnsley was the second most published wizard in the last fifty years on the subject in Britain, but that Yarnsley probably knew more about magical history than even professor Binns did.

In their private lessons they were spending time examining some of the first known spell creators in history, and their techniques and visions in creating their magic. It was surprisingly one of the more interesting topics he had come across in his time at Hogwarts and had made him excited and anxious for each lesson with Yarnsley.

Outside of all of his private lessons, his classwork and research had kept him from hanging out with his friends more than usual. As busy and hectic as his life had become this year he certainly wasn't the only one who was busy though.

Hermione, the crazy lunatic that she is, had decided to add ancient runes as well as care of magical creatures to her schedule this year. Which meant she was taking _nine_ classes this year. If that didn't fill her time up enough she was still doing private lessons with Snape for potions two days a week and Flitwick had also started doing private charms lessons with her two days a week.

While he certainly had a busy schedule, and out of all them Hermione had probably the busiest schedule, Harry's schedule throughout the third year had proven to be just as busy as the both of theirs. Harry had decided on adding care of magical creatures and spell creation to his electives, which meant just like Hermione he was taking nine classes this semester. However, Hermione did not have to catch up on two years of lessons like Harry had to in spell creations.

Harry had been nervous at first about adding third year spell creations to his schedule, and even professor Yarnsley said it was rare for students to test into a third year course after having not taken the course before. However, Harry had passed the entry exam test with ease and with some assistance from himself and Hermione Harry had caught up quick. Harry was already beginning to dive into advanced areas in the subject.

To go along with his busy class schedule Harry was also continuing his private lessons with McGonagall this year. To makes things even tougher for him, Flitwick had asked that Harry join Hermione in their private charms lessons as well which meant that he had two more days of his week lost to private lessons. So between the three of them they all agreed, third year sucked.

Second year for Alina was no laughing matter either. While Alina _only_ had seven classes this year she had more private lessons than anyone else in the school combined it seemed. Flitwick had starting training Alina on dueling since she had won the tournament for her year, and even had her dueling with Marik often times.

Snape had also deemed Alina worthy of private potion lessons, though from what Alina told him more time in the lessons was spent with Snape bashing her father than on potions. Along with Snape and Flitwick, McGonagall had also started doing private transfiguration lessons with Alina. Flitwick had even tried to throw in private lessons on charms with Alina, but since she literally had no time for anymore lessons they had agreed on meeting twice a month to cover some extra things.

So with all of their private lessons, classes, and studies it actually was not that big of a surprise that this was the first time in the year they had all gotten together in the same room at the same time.

"Marik if you steal any more of _my_ butter I will cut your hand off with this butter knife!" Alina shouted at him as he had once again tried to steal more butter for his next biscuit.

"You two sound like a married couple the way you fight," Hermione commented, her nose behind a charms book.

"SHUT UP!" Alina shouted and threw the roll she was holding at Hermione across the table. It was hard to tell whose face was more red. Hermione's from anger, or Alina's from blushing.

"Ahhmm!" someone cleared their throat. They all looked up to see McGonagall staring disapprovingly at Alina throwing a roll at Hermione. He laughed as Alina blushed more and mouthed sorry to the professor.

"So what should we do on our free day?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"Go to our potions lab of course," Hermione answered first, returning her attention back to her book.

"Or we could go outside and sleep by the lake," he proposed, knowing fully well it was a lost cause. He waited for Hermione's lecture.

"Marik you have been trying to get me to help you with your ancient runes project for weeks now and today is probably the only day I can. Harry has been terrified that another house elf will pop in unannounced while is working on his _animagus_ work so now is his only chance he has to have us all look out for him. And Alina will not shut up about trying the second batch of _animareavelo potion_ I brewed so today is the day I get to shut her up," Hermione lectured them all.

"Alright alright we get it!" he said, rolling his eyes defeated. He had known from the minute he had woken up that morning that he would be spending his day in their potions lab working.

"I have not been talking about it _that_ much!" Alina said, clearly lying.

"What are you wanting help on in ancient runes Marik?" Harry asked him from the other side of the table.

"I'm trying to finish mine and Hermione's rune staves out of the unicorn horn, which is a challenge enough on its own. I also need her help double checking my rune theories for something else I'm working on," he answered Harry, trying to steal a roll off Alina's plate at the same time. He failed and earned a soft slap on the back of his hand.

"Is using the unicorn horn better for making rune staves? I know for a fact you can just buy normal ones at a supply shop," Alina asked him.

"They are a lot better than normal ones. Unicorn rune staves are almost impossible to find in stores and normally sell for a few thousand galleons," Hermione answered, never lifting her gaze up from her book.

"What makes them so much better?" Harry asked, sounding interested.

"You are able to draw a lot sharper and cleaner lines with them first off. So that narrows down a lot of the failures and risks with each rune. Plus the magic in the horn adds some extra magic to the rune. Which means it opens up a lot more new possibilities of possible runes to create," he answered.

"Huh that is interesting. I still am at a dead end with my resources. I thought I had an idea for crystallizing some of the blood in my galatic way-viewer but all my tests with it ended up coming up negative so I am back at square one," Harry said, looking disappointed. Harry had come up with three different ideas since the start of the summer for his share of the unicorn resources, and all three of his ideas had ended up at dead ends.

"What is this other ancient runes thing you are working on Marik?" Alina asked curiously.

"You will see today if Hermione proves my rune theories to be correct," he answered her, a secretive grin on his face.

"Why do you gotta be so secretive huh?" Alina asked him, looking disappointed that he would not just tell her already.

"Because I tell you everything! I gotta have a few secrets!" he said back to her.

"Ya ya ya. Well what are you gonna work on today then Hermione? Our free day can't just be all about us," Alina asked Hermione.

"I actually finished a lot of the spell theories and calculations for my new spell creation magic last night, so I am going to try the first two spells today!" Hermione said excited, and for the first time that morning lifted her nose out of her book.

"Ooh, so we finally get to see what Hermione's secret project is then?" Harry said.

"If you are lucky and nice to me you just might!" Hermione responded and gave Harry a wink.

"Get a room!" he added at seeing them both wink at each other. Both of his friends immediately began to blush. Hermione was just about to say something back to him but was interrupted as the mail owls began swooping into the Great Hall. The normal large brown Ministry owl swept over them and dropped Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet on the table in front of her. Hermione quickly picked it up and began reading.

Ever since his encounter with the Minister of Magic and Hermione and Harry's discoveries in the minister's office last year they had all been keeping a closer eye on everything the minister and the ministry did. Fudge had made numerous attempts to schedule interviews with them for the tournament over the summer, as well as interviews following his and Alina's victories. They had all agreed though to ignore the minister's requests though, not wanting to give the bastard an inch.

Everything he had overheard the minister say that day in his second year had been enough for him to have about as low opinion for the minister and the ministry as one could have. However, the shady paperwork for the _Lex Sanguinis_ project that Hermione had found in the minister's desk somehow found a way to lower his opinion further. Since then they scanned the Daily Prophet everyday for any clues or possible information about the project. Harry and Alina had even gone so far as to ask their parents questions here and there about things going on in the ministry to try and get clues. So far all of their searching had led them nowhere. Nowhere besides still thinking Fudge was an absolute dick.

"So what's the word?" he asked Hermione who as scanning the cover intently.

"Any clues on the project? Or news on Fudge?" Harry added.

"No. And no. Look at this though," Hermione said as she laid the paper down on the table for everyone to see.

 **SALE ON ALL WITCHES UNDERWEAR**

 _Madame Hugginton would like to announce that all witches underwear will be on sale this saturday for 50% off! Now is the perfect time ladies to get that sexy pair of lace that your man will love! Men now is your best chance to replace that pair of old undies you have had since your days at Hogwarts that your wife hates! Whatever your need is, Madame Hugginton has what you need._

"Wow Hermione you perv. Didn't realise you would be so excited about getting some new underwear. Planning on showing it off?" he asked Hermione sarcastically. She threw the roll Alina had thrown at her at him while blushing fiercely.

"Not that article you idiot!" she shouted at him, pointing at another article on the page.

 **Breakout at Azkaban!**

 _Early this morning at around 3:45am a large explosion was heard by one of the prison guards at the maximum security prison Azkaban. While most of the prison's floor plans and schematics are top secret to only a few top personal in the ministry, a worker did tell this reporter that the explosion took place in the highest-security ward of the prison. This reporter was told that the highest-security ward of the prison is located around one-hundred feet under the ocean and is defended by not only countless thick walls but also a number of powerful enchantments._

 _Though the exact number is still unknown it has been confirmed by the ministry that over at least eleven prisoners escaped in the midst of the explosion, all of which were being held on life sentences. The most notable escapee from the prison is none other than possibly the most infamous prisoner to ever be held in Azkaban fortress, Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix was currently serving her twelfth year inside the prison since being charged with over fifty-three counts of murder, twenty-six counts of torture, five counts of robbery, two counts of kidnapping, and ninety-three counts of breaking the International Statute of Secrecy and had been sentenced only weeks ago to receive the dementor's kiss._

 _While it is unknown if any of the prisoners have been captured or if there are any leads Minister Fudge did say this: "We are currently doing all we can to recapture Miss Lestrange as well as the other escapees, and we beg the magical community to remain calm."_

 _Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis."Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. Fudge has also come under criticism by other high ranking ministry officials for not doing more in response to this issue._

 _Regardless of whether you agree with the minister or not, there is one thing everyone can agree on, Bellatrix Lestrange and the other prisoners are extremely dangerous. The ministry pleads anyone who sights a prisoner to immediately report it. Further information on this topic will be released in the next issue._

"Damn, over eleven prisoners. The aurors are sure going to be busy now," he said after he finished reading the article. He looked over to Alina to steal the butter tray from her again and noticed she looked a little off. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Bellatrix Lestrange is my dad's cousin," Alina said coldly.

"What? I didn't know that!" Harry said.

"Yeah, he never talks about her or the rest of his family to be honest. But I remember finding a book with his family tree in it when I was young and he told me about her then," Alina put down the roll she had been eating as she spoke.

"What did Sirius say about her?" Harry asked.

"Nothing really. Just that he was her cousin, they had met a few times, she was crazy and in prison because she was crazy," Alina answered.

"I wonder how they escaped. From what I have read about the prison there is no way a prisoner could have cast any magic from inside their cell," Hermione said.

"Maybe they had help from someone on the outside," he added to the conversation.

"Who would help someone like _her_ escape?" Alina asked Harry.

"Voldemort," Harry answered bluntly. They were all quiet for a few seconds after that.

Harry had come clean when Marik was in the hospital last year and told them everything he knew about Voldemort. From that they learned that somehow Voldemort had come back to life and was looking for ways to get his powers back. He had tried in the first year while possessing Quirrell to get his hands on the Sorcerer's Stone but had failed when they fought the troll and the professors fought and killed Quirrell.

Marik also learned in the Chamber while he was fighting Tom Riddle that Tom was actually Voldemort before he became the dark lord. No one still knew how Tom was actually there though, or if someone did they weren't telling him. All they currently knew now about Voldemort was that he was out there somewhere. And as long as he was out there Harry was an enemy and a target. Whether Voldemort was still looking to regain his power or already had it and when he might strike again they had no idea.

"Well we will keep an extra ear out from here on out on all this. Harry if you hear anything else you will let us know right?" Hermione asked Harry, giving him a glare in the process.

"I promised I would didn't I?" Harry answered.

"Mhmm. Well let's get going to the lab. If we stay here any longer Alina is going to gain ten pounds from all the rolls she is eating," Hermione said, earning a panicked look from Alina who was now looking down at her stomach.

They all followed Hermione as she led them from the Great Hall towards their potions lab in the dungeons. Snape had again agreed to let Hermione use the lab this year so again the four of them had made it their headquarters. Even though they all four were never in there at the same time, you could bet that there was always at least one of them there at any point in the day.

"Alright, so Alina will stop asking she gets to go first," Hermione said as they all piled into the room. Hermione began taking some of the flasks out of one of the nearby cabinets.

"Oh would you stop it! I haven't been that bad," Alina said again, and again it was clear she was lying. Ever since Hermione had brewed another batch of the _animarevealo potion_ , this time with a few substitute ingredients along with a different brewing process, Alina had been begging to try it out and find out if she was an _animagus_ like they had done their first year. From what she and Harry had told them her father Sirius was also an _animagus_ so Alina was hopeful that she would be too.

"Okay, so how does it work?" Alina asked as Hermione poured the black liquid into a flask.

"It's simple. You drink it and find out if you are or are not an _animagus,"_ Hermione answered, handing the flask to Alina.

"And you hope to god you don't throw up," he added, remembering the horrid taste of the potion.

"Is it that bad?" Alina asked them, looking scared now.

"No. Mine was actually quite delightful," Harry said looking smug. They had learned back then that the potion apparently tasted better if you were in fact an _animagus._

"Okay, well here goes nothing," Alina said as she downed the glass that Hermione had just handed her. Immediately Alina seemed to have a better reaction to the potion then he or Hermione had. Alina's hands were firmly planted on the table and slowly were beginning to change. Small hairs began poking out of her hands at the same time as her fingernails began to grow and sharpen.

From the shape her hands were taking it appeared that Alina's hands were morphing into large paws, much like Harry's had. The hair on the back of her hands started changing to a bright tawny-yellow color. Multiple rosettes formed across her hands like spots as the paws continued to grow. After about thirty seconds the paws seemed to stop growing and what once had been hands were now paws that looked like a cat you might find in the safari or jungle.

"Woah. . ." was all Alina said as she stared at her paws, moving them around in the light to get a better look at them.

"Hermione cast the spell so she can know what it is," Harry said, his eyes fixed on Alina's paws.

"Right. _Animarevealo!"_ Hermione aimed the spell at Alina's paws and purple letters began to form themselves over them.

"A Jaguar! That is so cool!" Alina shouted. She was practically bouncing around the room in excitement.

"Congratulations Alina! That is so amazing," Hermione said to Alina. He could tell Hermione was a tad jealous, so was he to be honest.

"A Jaguar sounds cool. You are going to have a pretty coat of fur I bet," he said to Alina, giving her a congratulatory hug too. He had seen jaguars a few times growing up and had to admit it was a pretty badass thing to be able to transfigure into.

"Really? You think so?" she asked him, still looking excited.

"Yeah I do," he answered. "Much cooler than a mountain lion that is for sure."

"Haha, very funny. Congratulations Alina. You will have to tell McGonagall next time you see her. I'm sure she will be excited to hear," Harry told Alina.

"Yeah, I will! And you have to help me on working on my _animagus_ magic now," Alina told Harry.

"Of course I will. Why don't I do my _animagus_ stuff next so you can take notes.,"Harry suggested. Alina looked like she was going to explode in excitement at getting to watch.

"Me and Hermione will be on house elf duty!" he joked. Harry shivered at the joke.

"Not funny Marik! I still have nightmares about that!" Harry yelled back. Hermione reached her arm across the table and smacked him.

"Alright, but seriously, I do need everyone's help this time. Marik if you could use your shadows and darken the room that will help out a lot. McGonagall told me that since my _animagus_ form is a nocturnal one out in the wild it will be better to do this part of the ritual in a dark area," Harry explained to him.

"Okay, I can do that. Just tell me when," he responded.

"What can I do Harry?" Hermione asked, wanting to help however she could.

"You are in charge of room temperature. I need it to be about the same temperature in here as you could imagine a cold night in November would be," Harry explained to Hermione.

"Okay," Hermione said, nodding her head.

"Alina you just take notes and observe. You will have to do this too one day. And all of you are in charge of keeping an eye on me. This is the second most dangerous ritual stage of an _animagus_ transformation. I will have a lot of natural instincts and adrenaline flowing through me. So if I get out of control stun the hell out of me," Harry explained. Harry didn't have to say anything after that. A free chance to stun Harry, Marik was all in on this now.

"Okay, so I will start the first ring of the transformation first. When I do that and get down on the ground Marik and Hermione that is your signal, okay?" he asked the both of them. They both nodded. "Alright wish me luck," Harry said as he readied himself.

A gold ring started appearing under Harry's feet as his friend closed his eyes and began the ritual. Slowly Harry moved from his feet to all fours as his hands finished changing forms. On his cue Marik called on the shadows around them in the room to expand, making the room almost pitch black. He could see all of their breath in the dark room as Hermione began lowering the temperature in the room. He should have brought a jacket.

After a good thirty seconds Harry's feet started to shift into their _animagus_ form. Marik tightened his grip on his wand and looked around the room ready at any second to hex the shit out of a house elf. Luckily for Harry though no house elves popped in. He could see from the increase in the cold heavy breaths Harry was breathing now that Harry was draining a lot of his magic in this ritual. Harry remained focused though and looked to be continuing the ritual as a third ring started to form under him.

From what Harry had told them over the summer the third layer was as far as he had gotten with his ritual so far. Harry had gone on a trip with his father and Alina's dad to work on progressing his ritual and had ended up adding the third layer during that trip. Marik had yet to see it in person though. Slowly as the third ring became brighter the rest of Harry's arms and legs sprouted fur and shifted their form. Outside of his torso and head the rest of Harry really did look like a mountain lion. As more of the third ring formed a long tail began sprouting out of Harry's. . . well. . . you get the point. It took all the strength he had to not laugh at the sight of a Harry torso and head with a tail. Honestly though as amazing as _animagus_ magic was he would have killed to have a tail too.

The third ring seemed to have become as bright as the other rings at about the same time as the tail became fully grown. Harry's breathing was much heavier now at this point as Marik could see a constant stream of white breath coming out of his mouth. It was clear from the sweat, heavy breathing, and strain Harry looked under that people were not lying when they said this was one of the more difficult forms of magic. Harry's face began to strain more as he started to create the new layer he had not yet added to his ritual.

A fourth dim golden circle started to form under him as his body tensed up more. As the circle got brighter Harry's body began to shake. It looked like he was in pain as small orange-brown hairs began to sprout out all over his torso. His shirt began to shift into the hairs and torso of his mountain lion form much slower than the rest of his body had.

After a good five minutes of straining and trying to form the fourth layer of his ritual Harry's torso looked to have completely shifted forms. Outside of his head, which looked oddly out of place now, the rest of Harry's body resembled a large mountain lion. It was truly impressive to behold. After another thirty seconds one by one the layers of Harry's ritual faded and his body began quickly shifting back its form.

When Harry's body was back to normal his friend collapsed to the floor of their potions lab looking absolutely exhausted. Marik returned the lightning in the room to normal as Hermione stopped her spell and went over to help Harry up.

"Should we stun him?" he asked, hopeful he still might get to stun Harry.

"Shut up Marik," Hermione shouted as she helped Harry over to the couch.

"That was amazing Harry. Congrats on adding a fourth layer! It looked so tough," Alina said to Harry as he sat down on the couch.

"Thanks Alina. And it was hard. It takes double the magic to complete and hold each layer so that layer is the toughest besides the final one," Harry replied through heavy breaths.

"When will you be able to do the last layer?" Hermione asked Harry as she wiped the sweat off him with a rag.

"Well McGonagall said after I get this layer down I should wait a while. She told me that I'm supposed to practice getting this far at least ten more times before I move on. So hopefully sometime after Christmas I can," Harry answered her.

"Well I guess that means we are fucked again this year on getting a transfiguration ' _M'_ then," Marik joked. To be honest the odds of him beating Harry in transfiguration were pretty slim anyways. He had to give credit where credit was due.

"You're damn right," Harry said laughing, it seemed he had finally caught his breath.

"Alright Hermione you want to go ahead and do whatever it is you wanted to do now," Marik turned and said to his friend.

"Yeah, Hermione! I'm excited to finally see it in action!" Alina said excited.

"Wait you know what it is?" Harry asked her, looking upset Hermione had told Alina something she had not told him.

"Of course I do! I'm Hermione's favorite after all," Alina said. Marik knew for a fact that Hermione favored someone else in the room more than Alina. The blush she now had on her face when she looked at Harry only added to his point.

"So what it is then?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Well you all know that Alina actually helped me come up with the idea for this over the summer when she told me all about the spell creation magic she was working on. We decided that since everyone else had a signature type of magic that I needed a signature type of magic of my own," Hermione started to explain.

"What do you mean signature type of magic?" Harry interrupted her to ask.

"Well Harry you have your transfiguration and animagus magic that no one else can do, Marik has his shadow magic that only he can do, and Alina is making progress on her white magic already. So like I said we decided I need a signature magic of my own," Hermione answered Harry.

"But you are like the god of brewing potions. Isn't that a pretty damn good signature?" he asked Hermione.

"That's exactly what I said," Alina responded with a warm smile.

"Yeah, I guess. But anyone can brew potions. I wanted something more unique," Hermione explained.

"Well what did you come up with?" He asked her, he was very curious at this point. Knowing Hermione it would probably blow his mind.

"Well you will see soon! I finished the wand movements and incantations a while ago for two spell ideas I had. That was the easy part. With my magic idea though the math and calculations are ridiculously hard and complex and has taken me since the day after the tournament until last night to finish. The two spells I made so far are sort of the same concepts but are applied in different ways," Hermione explained more.

"Enough with the lecture already. We get that it was tough! Show us already," he shouted at her. He was ready to see this unique magic already.

"Fine! Sorry jeez! The first spell could be a little risky so that's why I wanted you all here before I tested it," Hermione moved to the center of the lab and closed her eyes. "Here I go." Hermione just stood still for a few seconds concentrating. He was getting impatient and was about to say something before she finally raised her wand. " _Aevumcorporro!"_ Hermione cast the spell she had created.

He noted the incarnation itself was one that sounded tough enough just on its own. The wand movements she had used with the spell also required three complex movements. Most common spells only had one movement or two movements to them so that said something too. For a few seconds he just stared at his friend waiting for something to happen. However Hermione just stood there with nothing changing or happening. He guessed her spell creation had failed.

"Well let's figure out what went wron. . . HOLY HELL WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!" he found himself screaming. All of the sudden Hermione's body had vanished into thin air. As soon as her body disappeared the door to their potions lab opened and Hermione walked inside with a huge smile on her face.

"How. . . You were. . ." Harry started to say.

"Here. . . and then. . ." he added on to Harry's sentence.

"There. . ." Harry finished their sentenced. Apparently he wasn't the only person there whose mind was blown.

"Congratulations Hermione that was incredible!" Alina shouted to Hermione as she ran across the room to give Hermione a hug.

"You think so?" Hermione asked Alina, looking unsure.

"Oh my god yes! Look how much you blew both of their minds," Alina said pointing at him and Harry. He was still too perplexed to respond.

"Okay. What the hell just happened?" Harry managed to say from the couch. It seemed Harry had managed to compose himself from having his mind blond quicker than he had.

"Okay, so it is kind of hard to explain," Hermione started to say.

"It's kinda hard to process too," Marik interrupted her, shaking himself out the daze he was in.

"Okay, so my spell creations are all based around time. I did a lot of research and currently there is nothing out there that uses time as a form of magic. So I worked on a way to use time as magic.

"So far that spell and the other one I will try in a minute are as far as I have made it though. For that spell, it takes into account that time is a component quantity of measurement used to sequence events. As well it is constrained to the limits of the fourth dimension in our dimension in which time flows in constant progress from the past, to the present, to the future. So with that in mind the spell changes the quantity rates and alters the material reality of not only my conscious experience but the conscious experience of our dimension," Hermione paused and cleared her throat.

"Along with all of this the spell incantation and wand movements have to coincide with the magic since the circularity of both dimensions have different quantifiable rates of change. With all that in mind the spell only works when the caster's mind is fully aware of all this. Plus the caster has to be fully aware of the exact time and physical location they are casting the spell in both the third and fourth dimensions as well as know their location and time of where they will arrive at the end of the spells incantation in both dimensions.

"Those parts aren't so bad but what really makes it tough is that the magic itself breaks the laws of the fundamental universe of the third dimension but not the fourth dimension. So as a result for the correct sequence of irreversible successions to occur in the proper order the magic must be pushed as an almost flowing stream of liquid current through the third dimension of the mind and changed to a more solid form of magic in the fourth dimension. Plus, the wand movement hurts my wrist a little," Hermione finished saying, shaking her wrist.

Even though they were in the dungeons of the castle the chirps of crickets could be heard around them. Their room had gotten so quiet the sound of a pen drop would have probably shattered eardrums. He looked at both Alina and Harry on the other side of the room. He was glad to see that both of their jaws were also currently dropped to the floor.

"Guys?" Hermione said, looking worried at how they were all acting.

"Umm Hermione. . ." Alina started to say.

"WHAT?" he shouted at her. The only thing that made any sort of sense out of everything she had just said was that the wand movement made her wrist hurt. Everything else she said may have been spoken in a different language for all he knew.

"What do you mean what?" Hermione asked him, apparently not understanding how he and everyone else in the lab was confused.

"What as in literally every word you just said went over our heads. How the hell did you make a spell with all that lingo and big words!" he answered her.

He reached over to her notes on the spells and took a look, hoping they might shed some more light on what she had tried to explain. Looking over the notes only made his head hurt worse. The first seven pages were nothing but math problems that looked like they would make a rocket scientist cry. The next three pages were graphs that appeared so complex it looked like half of the lines were coming physically out of the page. Even the last two pages of incantations and movements alone looked even more difficult than the other pages had.

"Should I try to explain it again? Maybe I did a bad job," Hermione asked. She started to scratch her chin thinking of a better way to explain it.

"NO!" everyone besides Hermione shouted in unison at response to her question. Their heads would literally probably explode if she tried to explain all of that again.

"Hermione I think it is safe to say that _no one,_ and I mean no one else in the world will be able to understand what you just said," Harry said to her.

"I think this magic will certainly be unique to you and you alone. I already have a headache from pretending to try to understand how this all worked," Alina added. He agreed with Alina. No way in hell was he going to try and make sense of Hermione's notes.

"Well. . . what did you think at least?" Hermione asked. She looked kind of upset.

"Bloody amazing!" Harry answered immediately.

"Fucking mind blowing!" he added. Hermione seemed to light up at their compliments.

"Show us the next one!" Alina said in excitement.

"Okay! So for this one I also had to take into consideration the continuum sequences of the. . ." Hermione started to explain.

"NO!" they all shouted in unison again.

"Show us Hermione. Don't waste your time trying to explain it," Alina said.

"Fine! Everyone keep an eye out on this potion flask," Hermione pouted for a second before she again looked to start focusing. All of their eyes were watching the flask on the table intently.

" _Aevumobjoporro."_ Hermione cast the spell that sounded somewhat similar to the first spell. His eyes were fixed on the potion flask waiting for something to happen. Again it seemed like the spell had failed.

Just as he started to get doubts again, just like Hermione's body previously had, the potion flask on the table suddenly vanished. As the three of their jaws dropped to the floor again Hermione made her way over to one of the cabinets in the lab. They craned their necks as she opened it and when she did they could see on one of the counters the potion flask that had previously been on the table was there.

"Wow. . ." they all said again in unison.

"That is truly incredible Hermione," Harry said as he stood up and walked over to Hermione and gave her a hug.

"It is so cool Hermione!" Alina said, congratulating her friend.

"I don't even know where to begin Hermione. That magic is amazing," he told her. Whether he understood what just happened or not it really was incredible.

"Thanks you guys. That's as far as I have got so far so that's all I have right now to do," Hermione announced sounding happy from their reactions to her magic creations as she found a seat next to Harry on the couch.

"Take a look at my ancient runes theories then while I put the runes into the unicorn horn rune staves I carved yesterday," he said, levitating his paperwork over to Hermione as he made his way to the lab table.

It had taken him six hours yesterday to carve each stave alone. Unicorn horns were an extremely tough material to work with. It had taken borrowing one of the school's diamond drill bits along with an obsidian chisel to get the exact dimensions they needed for their staves. It was no wonder buying a unicorn rune stave was so expensive, it was a pain in the ass to create.

It would certainly be worth it though. The sharp point a unicorn rune stave had was so much better than any other stave on the market. With a point as sharp as it was, it allowed for almost perfect rune drawing, and the closer to perfect the rune was the better results the rune yielded.

He took out the two unicorn rune staves from his bag along with the rune stave he had borrowed from the school. Unfortunately the stave he had now was just your average run of the mill stave, so he would have to be extra careful with his carving. Thankfully though this would be the last time he would have to use a crappy stave.

Taking his time and concentrating as much as he could he began to carve the runes into the stave on the handle of the first unicorn horn rune stave. Alina had made her way to the table and was looking over his shoulder as he slowly made progress through it. The two runes he was adding onto the staves were simpler ones that just added some stability and extra magic storage to the staves, so both of the runes were fairly easy to draw. It only took about five minutes for him to carve them into the first stave. The unicorn stave glowed bright as he finished the last rune signaling they had been carved successfully.

"Alright! Let's try this baby out," he said as he used the newly carved stave to carve the runes into the other unicorn stave for Hermione. It was so much easier and went so much quicker with his new stave. The runes seemed to practically carve themselves as he just barely moved his hand to form the lines of the rune. "Here you are Hermione!" he announced to her as he finished his carvings on the second stave.

"Thanks Marik! I'm so excited to try it out," Hermione said as she walked over to the table to take a look at her new stave.

"Well what did you think of my theories?" he asked Hermione. Hoping all of his work checked out to be correct.

"Everything seems to check out as being correct. I recognize most of what I saw although I'm a little foggy on what your application for this is," she answered as she handed him back his notes.

"Well if you didn't find any mistakes how about I show you," he said grabbing his new stave from the table and two blank rune stones from his bag.

He was excited to finally get to do the project he had been working on since the first few days of the summer. He had come up with this idea early on during the summer and had spent the majority of his time, whenever he worked on ancient runes, trying to find the right theories to make it work. He slowly and carefully carved the two complex rune drawings from his notes onto the stones as everyone else in the lab watched.

These two carvings were by far two of the most complex runes he had ever drawn so far. Each one utilized over fifteen different straight lines along with a complex circular pattern on their edges. It would have been near impossible to do if he had not got his hands on the unicorn stave. After about thirty minutes of carving he was finally satisfied that they were about as perfect as they were going to get.

"Marik they look great and all but they didn't activate," Hermione said as he set the two runes on the table.

"Yeah, I know. These two aren't like standard runes, they won't activate yet until I activate them," he answered her.

"How do you do that?" Alina asked curiously.

"Like this," he picked up one of the runes and placed it face down on his left forearm. He placed the other one directly center of him on the table and took out his wand. " _Umbrosio!"_ he cast his shadow magic on the rune on the table. Immediately both runes started to glow brightly in response to his spell. He couldn't help but let out a small scream and tense his arm in response to the pain as the rune on his forearm started to burn it's magic into his forearm.

"Marik what is wrong!" Alina asked him looking worried when he screamed. He looked over to see all of his friends were looking concerned and had worried faces on.

"Just wait a minute. . . It's almost done," he said through clenched teeth as the pain in his arm increased a little. After another twenty seconds or so the pain died down in his arm and the runes stopped glowing signalling they had finished their magic. He lifted the rune stone off of his forearm to reveal a black and grey tattoo on his skin.

"You made a complex set of runes to give yourself a tattoo?" Harry asked him.

"Kind of, yeah," He started to explain as he looked his first ever tattoo over. He had been unsure of what the actual tattoo would end up taking the form of, but he was happy with how it turned out. "The first rune was designed to absorb my spell, incantation, and wand movement and transfer it's magic into the second rune. The second rune was designed to not only receive that magic but also to combine it all and then transfer it into a singularity. With a few extra carvings I had the second stone create a tattoo as that singularity. What the tattoo actually turned out to be I couldn't figure out how to control. It all just depended on the magic put into the first stone."

"So you're telling me the rune created that art and image on its own?" Hermione asked him, looking amazed.

"Yup," he said examining the tattoo further. The rune had truly created an amazing image that really did fit his shadow magic perfectly he thought. The tattoo was a black and grey image of a figure, that resembled almost a perfect image of Marik, with black hair covering his face as he was on one knee bent over staring at the reflection of his own shadow. The shadow that the tattooed man was looking at resembled the swirling black chaotic shadow figure that he could summon. It was amazingly detailed and had turned out perfect.

"Well while I do think it looks hot, is incredible artwork, and fits you a a lot, why go through all that work for a tattoo? Why didn't you just get a normal tattoo if you wanted one so badly?" Alina asked him as she continued to examine his forearm.

"Because this isn't just a _normal_ tattoo. This tattoo contains my shadow magic inside of it. The rune not only carved the tattoo into my skin, but also carved my shadow magic's incantation and wand movement along with it," he tried to explain to her.

"Yeah I still don't get it," Harry said, still looking confused.

"WAIT! NO WAY! That is incredible!" A wide-eyed Hermione proclaimed. She appeared to have arrived at the answer before his friends.

"Yes Hermione," he said smiling, enjoying her reaction. "Now with this tattoo my shadow magic is stored in my arm along with its incantation and wand movements. So if it really did work I no longer have to actually physically cast the spell to use it," he explained to his two confused friends more. Both of the light bulbs over their heads went off at the same time.

"Woah. . . NO WAY!" they both shouted at the same time.

"So you don't have to say anything or even have your wand to do it?" Alina added.

"Yup. See watch," he drew all of the shadows in the room into his palm where they collected into a small orb the size of a golf ball. His friends all covered their eyes as the room got blindingly bright with the lack of darkness present. He snapped his fingers and released the magic after finishing his demonstration.

"That is amazing Marik!" Alina proclaimed and gave him a hug.

"It is so cool. Why hasn't else ever thought of doing this?" Harry asked.

"I'm impressed Marik. You came up with these theories and runes all on your own already in just a few months of taking ancient runes?" Hermione asked him. The moments were few and far between when Hermione Granger admitted to be impressed by him, he let this moment sink in for a few seconds.

"Yeah. I started working on the concept the first few weeks over the summer and have been progressing with it everyday since then. I know he doesn't look like the type of guy to have tattoos but my dad actually has a really cool half-sleeve on his left arm. I've always loved it and wanted one of my own so it gave me the idea. Don't tell him I have one now though, he may just kill me for doing it without his permission. I'm actually going to use this for my end of year project in the class so professor Babbling helped me out with a few of the carving lines along the way," he answered her.

"Damn Hermione. You need to step up your rune work then or Marik is going to take the ' _M'_ rank for runes and your spot at the top."Alina joked. Hermione went pale at her comment.

"Hahaha you're damn right I am." He said laughing. Hermione's face was starting to look panicked.

"You wish Ose!" she shouted at him. Her face quickly changing to its scary version.

"You two calm down now! Now that we have all successfully pushed the boundaries of magic enough today can we actually go take a break and relax outside?" Alina asked them all.

"I agree. My brain needs a break from all the mind blowing magic it's seen today. And I have been in this lab so much I feel like I have forgotten what the sun looks like," Harry added.

"Yes please!" he shouted as he bolted for the door. His friends followed him as he ran through the castle and out onto the grounds. They found a nice spot out on the front lawn where they summoned a blanket and all laid down. He laid down on the blanket next to Alina and rested his head on her leg as he closed his eyes. McGonagall had lied to them, third year wasn't turning out to be so bad after all.

* * *

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	31. Book3: Chapter 5

**Alina**

"Ugh I love the snow so much! Why can't it always be like this outside?" she said, leaving the protection of the overhead awning to let the small white flakes of snow fall down onto her face. She stuck out her tongue to let a large one land on the tip of her tongue. The snow even tasted more magical at Hogwarts than it did anywhere else.

"You always say that you want it to be cold like this forever. Then you don't stop eating all of the snow, get sick, and then start wishing for summer," Marik said rolling his eyes. She could see him shivering even though he was wearing multiple layers of clothing.

"Oh don't ruin her fun Marik," Hermione said in her defense. Marik's only response was to stick his tongue out at her. He seemed to regret that decision when a large snowflake landed on the tip of his tongue and he had frantically tried to brush it off with his gloves.

"Yeah, _Mary,_ don't ruin her fun," Harry added sarcastically. He too was shivering even with the multiple layers on.

"Please tell me we are not making that an actual thing. I would jinx you for calling me that again, but I am too damn cold," Marik said to Harry.

"Would you all stop your complaining. Your wizards for Peeve's sake put a heating enchantment on your clothes already! And Harry if you call Marik, Mary again _I_ will hex you!" she said to the two boys, trying to sound as threatening as possible. Both boys groaned but proceeded to take out their wands and enchant their robes.

"Well done," Hermione whispered to her looking proud. She smiled back at Hermione proudly.

"I always forget how many students are actually at Hogwarts until a Hogsmeade weekend. I feel like I never see half of these people during the year," she said whilst looking around in amazement.

The grounds in every direction you looked were covered with students, all waiting for the carriages that would take them to the small village of Hogsmeade to arrive. She was excited for this years trip to Hogsmeade. Even though she was in her second year at Hogwarts this would actually be the first time she ever went on the trip to the village. Last year she had been a little too busy being possessed by a dark lord to make the journey. Thankfully this year she seemed to be 'possesion-free' though and would be able to make the popular school trip.

"That's because we spend eighty percent of our school year inside the same dark potions lab." Harry responded. She noticed he was still looking grouchy about all of the snow but at least he had stopped shivering.

"The price you pay to be number one," Marik added.

"Number _two,"_ Hermione corrected Marik with her usual large grin that she got whenever she had the chance to brag about beating Marik for the number one rank.

"You're dead to me," Marik responded, giving Hermione a death glare in the process.

"You all better get all of the bickering out of the way now! I will not have you three ruin my first trip to Hogsmeade! Especially you!" she said glaring at her three friends and pointing at Marik.

" _Gulp._ Hey it's my birthday, you can't threaten a guy on his birthday!" Marik argued, trying to look innocent. She only glared harder at him.

"Your birthday isn't until tomorrow. We are just celebrating it today since we have classes tomorrow. That doesn't mean you get to actually use the birthday excuse today," she argued.

"You guys are the worst," Marik said, pouting.

"Guess I won't buy you anything today then. . ." she said with a smile directed towards Marik.

"I take it back!" Marik shouted, sounding like a kid trying to behave well enough to get a piece of candy from his parents.

"I swear sometimes I feel like I'm hanging out with five year olds," Hermione said as she shook her head.

"Hey don't talk about Alina like that Hermione!" Harry joked. Hermione didn't find it funny. Harry cowered and began shivering again when she gave him her best glare.

"Look," Hermione said, pointing at the carriages that had just arrived "it's time to go," she announced to their group and they all left the cover of the pavilion to find an empty carriage.

The end of November trip to Hogsmeade was one of the last breaks everyone got before the Holidays. As a result almost every student in the school took part in the trip, which meant finding an empty carriage was almost impossible. After failing to find a free carriage they settled on one that seemed to only have two people inside. She could tell instantly from the bright red hair that it was the older Weasley twins.

"Do you two mind if we join? Everywhere else is full," Harry asked the twins.

"Of course young Harry!" one twin started.

"The more the merrier!" the other one finished. The four of them climbed into the carriage and the carriage immediately began moving off towards Hogsmeade.

"What is that?" Hermione asked the twins. She followed Hermione's eyes to see her looking at something the twins were working on.

"Ahh well I'm afraid this is a secret project," one of the twins said.

"We can't have any of our competitors _hearing_ about this can we," the other twin added.

"Oooh good one Fred," the other twin said laughing.

"Hey I'm George!" Alina was so confused listening to them.

"Oh come on tell us. We won't tell anyone," Harry said after the twins finished laughing.

"How about this," one of the twins, Alina thought was Fred, started to say.

"We will make you a deal," the other continued.

"You lot place an order for say. . ." The first twin started scratching his chin to think. She noted long red whiskers seemed to grow from his chin the more he scratched it.

"Five of them as soon as we release stage one and. . ." the second twin added.

"We will tell you what they are," the first twin finished. They both put on huge grins when they finished their proposal.

 _Merlin these two were so weird._ She couldn't help but think to herself.

"How much for each?" Hermione asked the twins.

"For you friendly lot, I would say a small number like," the first twin started.

"Two galleons each!" the second twin finished. Their large grins returned.

"Okay it's a deal then," Hermione said, and took out her purse. They all followed her lead and took out ten galleons each, she noted Marik groaning throughout the process. The twins high-fived each other and were practically bouncing in their seats as they were handed the galleons. "Now spill it!" Hermione said with a sharp glare. Even if it was a prank the twins were working on Hermione _had_ to know everything.

"Right!" the second twin said as he rubbed one of the galleons on his face.

"This here is the next new product brought to you by none other than," the first twin enthusiastically began saying.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" the second twin shouted.

"This device is the next biggest thing on the market," the first twin started again. Her head was starting to hurt worse from all of this.

"It is sure to leave you grinning from _ear_ to _ear_ with all of its possibilities," the second twin added.

"Oooh good one George!" the first twin said laughing.

"Wait a minute! I'm Fred! Not that ugly git George," the second twin said looking offended!

"Just tell us already!" Hermione shouted impatiently at the two redheads. Even with all of their joking with a glare like the one Hermione had just given them they seemed to get a little more serious; just a little though.

"Right then!" the second twin started again.

"This h- _ear_ is what we like to call an," the first twin continued explaining.

"Extendable Ear!" the second finished. He held up the small product for them all to see.

"Patent pending," the first twin added quickly as they all stared at what the twins were holding out for them. In their hands was a small human looking ear that looked like it had a piece of string attached to it.

"I don't get it," Marik said after a few moments of silence. The twins looked taken aback by his words, with looks as if he had stunned their family's dog or something.

"What does it do?" she asked the twins.

"Well my dearest Miss Black," the first twin straightened his tie as he spoke.

"With this Extendable ear," the second one began explaining.

"Patent pending," the first twin added again.

"You will be able to insert this string into your ear," the second twin continued explaining and demonstrated by putting the string into his ear.

"Then shove the other end under a door for example," the first twin added.

"And you will be able to hear the entire conversation or noise as clear as it was mere feet away!" the second twin finished explaining. Both the twins held the ear back up in front of them, again with huge grins on their faces.

"That's so cool!" Harry announced, breaking the silence in the carriage and causing the twins' grins to grow larger.

"How does it work?" Hermione asked, suddenly looking interested.

"I'm afraid Miss Granger that," the first twin started.

"Is something we cannot disclose even to buying customers!" the second finished. Hermione pouted.

"Have you tested them yet?" she asked the twins.

"Many times yes!" the second twin answered.

"From these we learned that a fourth year Slytherin boy named," the first twin continued.

"Thomas Higgs has a crush on another Slytherin girl named Ciara Mosop," the second twin finished.

"As well that Professor Sprout likes to sing," the first twin again started to talk.

"Weird opera songs to her plants when no one is around," the second twin finished.

"That's an invasion of privacy!" Hermione shouted. The twins merely shrugged her comment off.

"It is cool though," Alina added. The twins' smiles grew again.

"You could use them for all sorts of useful things, when is stage one coming out?" Harry asked the twins. Harry seemed excited to get his hands on some.

"You can expect your shipments during the holiday!" the second twin answered.

"It's our way of wishing you a very m- _ear-_ y Christmas!" the first twin joked, earning groans from everyone in the carriage, including his twin.

"Really George?" the second twin said, looking disappointed.

"I'm Fred you git!" the first twin shouted. Her head was killing her now.

The rest of the carriage ride only made her head hurt worse. Harry had been interested to find out about some of the other projects the twins had been working on, so for the entirety of the trip the two twins had not stopped talking. By the end of their carriage ride Harry had ended up placing orders for over fifty galleons worth of products and had told the twins he wanted to discuss making more investments in the future. Harry may have said he didn't have a lot of his father's genes outside of his hair, but Harry's interest in what the twins were working on seemed like something his father would have been _very_ interested in.

The rest of them had settled on being content with their preorder of Extendable Ears, patent pending. Although Marik did buy one of their fake, self-enchanting-mustaches for some odd reason. At last after spending what was much too long in the carriage with the twins they arrived at the small village of Hogsmeade.

"It's so pretty!" she announced as she set foot onto the large white blanket of snow that seemed to cover the entire village. Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees. The shop windows along the street all seemed to glow with an extra brightness as they illuminated the snowy village.

All around them students were running from shop to shop, pressing their faces against the glass to try and see what was for sale at each one. She could see a large number of students already headed straight for Three Broomsticks, which she had heard countless stories about from her father. On the other side of the street there was already students leaving Tomes and Scrolls bookshop with bags in each hand. The snowy town of Hogsmeade was really quite a magical sight to behold.

"Alright well how about we meet up at the Three Broomsticks around five? That way we can grab a bite to eat before we have to head back to the castle," Hermione asked them all.

"What do you mean meetup? I thought we were all going together," she asked Hermione, upset that she might have to explore the town by herself.

"Well me and Harry have to go get Marik a birthday present, and I still need to get you a Christmas present and this may be my last chance to get something in person. We can't have you two seeing your gifts yet so us two will be leaving you here," Hermione said with a smile as she left her and Marik standing there in the snow and dragged Harry down the street by his arm. Alina looked over to Marik and made eye contact with the wizard who didn't look nearly as bewildered as she did at the turn of events.

"Well where do you want to go first?" Marik asked her after a few moments of silence.

"Uhh. . ." she replied, trying to think of where she wanted to explore first. She let her eyes wander around the street trying to get an idea. However she quickly found herself sweating. All around them walking were couples! In every direction that she frantically turned her head all she could see was students hand in hand.

She counted at least ten pairs of couples holding hands as they walked romantically down the snowy street. Another couple was kissing under the mistletoe hanging near the door of the Three Broomsticks. She turned her head again in nervousness towards the shop window nearest to them hoping she might be able to find an escape from all the romanticness there. It was no hope though. Even in Honeydukes sweet shop she saw an older wizard with his arms wrapped around his girlfriend as she popped a sweet into his mouth. Suddenly it felt a lot warmer out here.

"Are you okay, Alina?" Marik asked her looking worried. She did her best to shake her worries away and nod.

 _Everything is okay Alina. Just because their are couples. . . everywhere. . . doesn't mean anything! You and Marik are not a couple. You are just friends! You don't have to be nervous._ She mentally told herself, trying to console her worries. She made eye contact with Marik again, who was still looking at her concerned. She found herself blushing again and immediately removed her gaze from his eyes.

"Okay. . . Well how about we just start walking and if you see something stop me," Marik said and started leading the way. She collected herself and quickly made her way to his side, trying to use the falling snowflakes to cool her cheeks off.

The further they walked into the village the more magical the scenery seemed to get. Each store seemed to standout more than the next and the falling snow only made everything so much more beautiful. Some people hated the winter, she was definitely not one of those people.

"How about Gladrags Wizardwear? I need to get another winter coat and I could pick you out something cute!" she asked Marik. Out of all the shops a clothing shop seemed like the one they would be less likely to run into more couples. She desperately needed to escape from all the kissing, hand holding, and hugs if her cheeks were going to survive the day.

"Okay, lead the way," Marik responded and she led them into the shop. The store's owner greeted them and pointed her towards the coat section of the store.

"You have to help me pick something out okay," she told Marik, wanting his help finding something that he liked on her.

"Okay, although I don't really know what is in style. You see I normally wear men's clothes so," Marik said sarcastically as he started looking through the racks.

"How about this one?" she asked grabbing a simple black wool hoody from one of the racks and put it on. She blushed as Marik eyes scanned her up and down.

 _Maybe a clothing store was a bad idea. . ._

"Hmm I don't like it, it's too simple for you," Marik told her after he had finished scanning her with his eyes.

"What does _too simple_ mean?" she asked him, not sure if she should be offended or not.

"As in you always stand out wherever you go. That hoodie doesn't stand out," Marik scratched his head as he tried to answer.

"Maybe I don't always want to stand out! Whats wrong with blending in sometimes?" she asked him. Still not sure if Marik thought standing out was a good thing or not.

"Because you are too pretty to blend in," Marik who was now pulling a coat off a nearby rack said. Her cheeks immediately turned Weasley red again at his words. He had called her pretty! The little girl in her was screaming, or maybe all of her was.

"T-t-thanks. . ." she mumbled out, struggling to find the word. Her cheeks were on fire!

"Here, try this one on," Marik told her. He handed her a white wool peacoat that extended into a skirt towards the bottom. She took off the black hoodie and put the coat on. She turned to look at herself in the mirror.

"Wow. . . That's definitely the winner!" Marik said from behind her. She raised her gaze in the mirror to see his bleached silvery-grey eyes looking at her's in the mirror.

"You like this?" she asked as she turned around. The skirt part of the peacoat danced around her as she spun.

"I love it. This one stands out," Marik said. His eyes were still roaming all over her. Her cheeks were starting to ache again from all the blushing.

 _Is he checking me out?_

"I still don't know what that means Marik," she told him.

"Well, I don't know! It brings out your best features and makes them standout even more than they normally do I guess. The white color makes your eyes look even bluer and harder to look away from. And the skirt will show off your legs which are. . . nice. . ." Marik tried to explain. She noticed his eyes go up towards the ceiling as he tried to answer her. She smiled at his words, even though he had struggled to get them out.

"Well I will take that as a compliment I guess," she said and looked down at the price tag on the coat. Her eyes immediately went wide and she was sure the redness in her cheeks had turned to a pale white. "Well too bad I can't afford this," she said and placed the coat back on the rack. Marik walked over and took the coat back off the rack.

"We will call it an early Christmas present then," Marik said to her with a smile.

"What? No way Marik! You told me you already got me a Christmas present! And this is way too much money," she tried to pull the coat away from him but Marik didn't budge.

"I did already get you a Christmas present, but that doesn't mean I can't get you two presents. Plus I like the way you look in this coat. So think of it as me buying the coat for myself and you just have to wear it occasionally," Marik answered her. She immediately felt the pain return to her cheeks.

 _Yup clothing store was definitely a bad idea._

"Thank you Marik. You are too sweet," She smiled at him after she regained her composure. "But even so it is too expensive, I can't let you buy this for me. I would feel guilty," she explained to him. Even if she did like the idea of Marik liking the way she looked in the coat and checking her out more whenever she wore it, the coat was too much money.

"No it isn't. I still have two year's worth of research money from the ministry. You know that I already decided I wasn't going to use it to research stuff that the ministry would get credit for once I heard what Fudge said. So I might as well put it to some good use. Now drop it! Im buying you this coat and that's that!" Marik crossed his arms signalling that he would not be swayed.

"Fine! But I get to buy you a coat too then!" she told him and headed off towards the men's coat section before he could argue. It only took her a few seconds before she found the perfect one. "Here, put this on," she handed him the coat. Marik took it and put it on. The coat she had picked out for him was a grey peacoat that, besides the skirt, looked very similar to hers.

"Well?" Marik asked her as he buttoned it up.

"Absolutely yes! You look freaking hot!" she told him. She again blushed as she spoke before she actually realised what she had said. It was true though. The grey coat made the tan skin on his face look even tanner. It brought out his dark hair a lot more too. Best of all though the grey color and black buttons matched the grey and black in his eyes, which were by far his best feature.

"Uhh thanks," Marik replied, for a second she thought she saw him blush too. An awkward silence arrived between them for a few moments."Although, I always feel like black is more of my color," Marik said breaking the silence.

"Grey is definitely your color. It brings out your eyes even more, makes them glow like silver," she said, complimenting him.

"Well aren't you just the sweetest," Marik said and gave her a warm hug. A small whimper escaped her lips as he hugged her.

With the cold snow outside she could have stayed in his warm embrace for an eternity. Unfortunately, before she could get used to it though Marik broke off the hug and carried their jackets to the checkout counter. After pouting for a second that the hug was over to soon she made her way over to the counter and paid for Marik's coat. The both of them put on their new coats and shrank their old ones into their pockets. He really did look freaking hot in that coat.

"So where too now?" she asked him as they made their way out of the store.

"Over there," Marik said, pointing at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. She immediately became terrified.

In the nearby store window she could see at least fifteen different couples sitting across from each other inside the store. Each table seemed to only have two seats, and all of them were right next to a lit fireplace. Every girl at Hogwarts new Madam Puddifoot's was the most romantic date spot in Hogsmeade. Even she did, and she had never even been on date! Why did Marik want to go with her there?

"W-w-why t-there?" she stuttered out. Even with all the warming charms on her clothes she was again shaking. This time from the nervousness instead of the cold.

"Because I want too. I hear it's got some of the best tea in Britain. Plus that fireplace in there looks like heaven. Come on!" Marik said and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the shop. A shot of emotions exploded through her as he held her hand. Sure he was just pulling her towards the shop but still, Marik had held her hand!

 _Eeek!_ The little girl in her was again screaming. God her cheeks hurt.

They made their way into Madame Puddifoot's shop where Mrs. Puddifoot herself proceeded to sit them in the far corner of the shop right next to the fireplace. Of course they had been given the isolated table that was farthest away from everyone.

"So what can I get for the lovely couple?" Mrs. Puddifoot asked them as they sat down. Her cheeks turned redder than they had the entire day so far.

"WE AREN'T A C-C-COUPLE!" she shouted out, stammering all of the words and drawing the attention of everyone in the store. Both Marik and Mrs. Puddifoot stared at her like she was crazy. Which at this point she was sure she was.

"Do you have any Sencha?" Marik asked Mrs. Puddifoot after an awkward few seconds.

"Of course we do dear, two Sencha's coming up!" Mrs. Puddifoot declared as she made her way back to the kitchen.

"What is Sencha?" she asked Marik, only just now returning to reality and realising he had ordered for her.

"It's a common Japanese green tea. I used to wake up to the smell of my mom brewing it every morning when we lived in Japan. I would say it is probably my favorite drink. If you don't like it you can order something else, I just wanted you to try it," Marik answered her.

"I still can't believe you lived in so many places. It's hard for me to imagine anywhere outside of Britain. What was Japan like?" she asked him, curious to know more about his life before Hogwarts.

"It is still probably one of the prettiest places I ever lived. My dad was helping to install military equipment there at the base in the Hachimantai highlands. While we were there we lived in a small village outside of the base. Our house was up on a plateau so we had an incredible view of the ocean and highlands. I used to sit out there with mom all day after school and just drink tea and read," Marik explained to her. She loved listening to him talk about himself.

"Sounds like something out of a book. Would you ever want to go back there?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I would. Japan, New York, and Lithuania are the few places I actually enjoyed moving to."

"Two Sencha's for the lovebirds. You guys enjoy!" Mrs. Puddifoot said to them as she delivered their tea.

"WE ARE NOT L. . ." she started to defend herself but Mrs. Puddifoot just winked at her and headed towards another table. She tried to calm herself down. This was slowly becoming torture, at any point her cheeks were bound to explode.

"Anyways! I understand Japan, but why New York and Lithuania? Those two sound random in comparison to everywhere you lived," she asked him and took a sip of the tea he had ordered for her. "Mmmm this is so good!" She told him, taking another sip. It really was delicious.

"I'm glad you like it," Marik said as he took a sip from his own cup. "And because those places have some of the strongest good memories for me I guess. New York is where I was adopted by my parents. It's the first place I remember living. So it's kinda like the origin part of my story and without New York who knows where I would be today. I want to go back there one day and see if it is like I remember. Lithuania was simply just the most beautiful place we stayed at. Out of everywhere I lived it by far had the prettiest landscapes and sights to see. I just liked to walk around the town we lived at and gawk at everything."

"I'm so jealous of you. The coolest place I ever visited was Ireland with my dad when I was young, and that was mainly just to go see a Quidditch match," she took another sip of her tea.

"Moving around as much as I did sucked, trust me. Plus Hogwarts is by far the best place I have lived at," Marik added.

"I agree," she responded. "Speaking of great places and sights you still haven't taken me to your special spot at Hogwarts like you promised you would in my first year!"

"I know I know. I keep meaning too but then something comes up. Plus after stunning me the last time we hung out at your special spot I'm still kinda scared to haha."

She would have fired back quickly with a comeback of her own at his words, but was distracted when he got up and pulled his chair over to her side of the table and stopped it right next to hers. She was about to ask what he was doing when he sat down and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer into him.

It felt like she had been hit in the gut by a ton of bricks when he did. Immediately she found it hard to breath and like the temperature of the fire next to them had increased tenfold. Her mind was rushing, moving at a thousand thoughts a minute at what was going on.

 _What did this mean? Why did he do this? Was she supposed to say something? Or do something? Why is it so damn hot in this place!_

After internally having World War III in her head she finally calmed herself down. Instinctively she found her head leaning itself against Marik's shoulder as he pulled her in. She became nervous again as she felt the warmth of his shoulder pressing against her temple. She hopped he did not freak out or remove her from it, it was so comfy, warm, and felt so. . . right.

Over the next few minutes the two of them just sat in silence like that. Neither one of them moving an inch. Her eyes eventually closed as the moment of bliss she was having took its effect on her. This was perfection. This was one of if not the best moments of her time at Hogwarts so far. She loved the way her head seemed to fit perfectly against his shoulder, and the small rocking her head did as he breathed felt like a boat, drifting peacefully on calm waters.

 _Please let this moment never end._

"Hey Marik?" she found herself breaking the silence after another few minutes.

"Yeah?" he asked her. She was thankful he didn't move or remove her head from his shoulder when he spoke.

"Thank you," she answered in a whisper.

"For what?" he replied in the tone she could recognize as confusion without even opening her eyes.

"Everything. . . Being you. . . and this," she answered him. He didn't say anything back in return but even from her spot on his shoulder with her eyes closed she could feel the warmth of his smile.

Instead of answering, Marik chose to rest his head on top of hers. If it had been possible her smile would have grown even larger in reaction to this, but she was already in much too bliss. The two of them continued to sit like that for awhile. She eventually opened her eyes and watched the snow fall outside the windows. It was mesmerizing to watch each flake fall onto the windowsill and melt away in the candlelight.

"Alina?" Marik asked her after a while, waking her from her daze.

"Yeah Marik?" she asked him, watching another snowflake melt.

"It's almost five. We have to go meet Harry and Hermione," he answered her. Immediately a frown formed on her face.

 _Nooooooooooo_ she internally screamed. _Why did this moment have to end?_

"Come on, let's go," Marik said, lifting his head off of hers. She pouted in reaction to this and wanted to drag him back down to his chair as he stood up. Reluctantly she followed his lead out of her chair and towards the door of the shop. She had never noticed as they sat there how empty the store had become.

Outside of the shop the town was still just as magical as ever. The coat of white covering the town had thickened and the flurry of flakes falling from above had begun to fall heavier. She could see that many of the students were either still in shops or had already taken a carriage back to Hogwarts by this point.

 _How long had they been in there?_

"Alina look," Marik said pointing above them. As she turned her head upwards she immediately became more terrified than she had ever been in her life. Hanging above them only a few feet away was a mistletoe. The girl inside her was screaming as she entered full panic mode.

 _A mistletoe! A freaking mistletoe! They were standing under a mistletoe! That meant. . . Surely he didn't mean to. . . Were they about to. . ._ Thousands of thoughts were flying through her mind as she panicked.

Marik seemed to be about to answer her question as she felt his warm hands grab both of hers. As her hands, which were now shaking uncontrollably, were encompassed by his, her eyes drifted from the mistletoe above them towards his.

His bright, beautiful, perfect silvery eyes were staring right into hers. It felt like he was staring into her instead of just at her. She stood like stone, unable to move, and in too much panic to act. She closed her eyes in anticipation as she felt his warm breath against her face.

 _He was getting closer._

She felt the tug on both of her hands as he pulled her closer into him. His warm body was pressed right against hers. She could feel the movement of his chest and the beat of his heart as he was inched closer to her. Even with her eyes closed she could feel his eyes still staring at her.

She felt a rush of warmth travel through her as his hands tightened their grip on hers and another one of his warm breaths hit her face. She felt his face getting closer to hers. He was moving in. She was about to have her first kiss. Marik was about to be her first kiss. . . Just as she could feel his lips only centimeters away from hers she felt him pull away.

 _Noooooo!_ She screamed internally.

"Alina is that. . ." she opened her eyes as he spoke. She was unable to shake the disappointment that overtook her at seeing his face so far away from hers now.

 _So close. . ._

"What is it Marik?" she asked him, still in a state of shock.

"That person over there. . . It looks like that escaped prisoner from Azkaban you said you were related to," Marik answered her.

She noticed a change in his voice as he did. She followed to were his eyes were fixed, still too much in a state of bliss from moments earlier to fully take in what he was saying. After a few seconds what he had said finally sunk in when her eyes arrived at where he was looking. Sure enough a good twenty feet away from them was none other than Bellatrix Lestrange, and she was walking towards a group of students standing outside a nearby shop.

"Marik, we need to leave!" she said panicked, finally taking in the situation. Marik stayed where he was though ignoring her request to leave. Her eyes darted from Marik to Bellatrix in worry. Bellatrix had made her way to the group of students she was walking towards and immediately Alina's level of panic increased. Bellatrix had her wand out and aimed at one of the girls in the group. The girl at the end of the wand fell to the snow and began thrashing about as a piercing scream filled the snowy air. She felt Marik's hands leave hers. She turned to look back at him as the warmth left her fingers to see him running towards Bellatrix and the thrashing girl in the snow.

"MARIK NO!" she screamed out in panic as he left her side. Cold tears had already began to make their way out of her eyes. She tried to run towards him and drag him back to her but found herself unable to move. Her legs were stuck.

 _Did he cast a spell on her? Or was she just she just too terrified to make them move?_ She thought to herself as Marik closed in on Bellatrix.

" _Stupefy!"_ she heard Marik cast the spell at the witch. Bellatrix, even with her back facing Marik, rolled out of the way of the spell and now had her wand raised and pointed at Marik. More tears came to Alina's eyes.

 _She is going to kill him. . ._

"Stupid little boy. _Crucio!_ " Bellatrix shouted the spell she had never heard of at Marik. Marik's body just vanished into the snow though as Bellatrix finished the incantation. She saw Bellatrix staring in wonder as Marik vanished. The street they were on got very bright all the sudden as a flash of black energy collided with Bellatrix from somewhere behind the witch. After gathering herself from the snow where the spell had thrown her Bellatrix turned to see Marik standing in a new spot with his wand raised.

"I'm impressed, little, wittle, boy. _Crucio!"_ Bellatrix again shouted the spell, this time with an evil grin. Alina again tried to run out to Marik, but again found herself unable to move. Marik's body again vanished into the darkness following Bealltrix's spell. A tall shadowy figure jumped out from Bellatrix's shadow and grabbed the witch. In one swift motion the shadow figure threw the witch into the wall of the nearby shop.

" _Yamipulso!"_ Marik again appeared out of the shadows a few feet away from where Bellatrix was trying to get up from. A powerful stream of black magical energy flew out of Marik's wand and collided with Bellatrix, again sending her back into the wall of the store.

"MARIK OSE WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" she heard a voice shout from nearby. Alina shifted her eyes, still unable to move to see professor McGonagall walking down the street.

" _Crucio!"_ she saw Marik's body immediately fall to the snow where it began to thrash about.

"MARIKKKK!" she screamed. More cold tears came flowing out of her eyes as she watched him thrash about the snow, obviously looking like he was in excruciating pain. She looked at Bellatrix with eyes, begging for her to stop. The wicked smile only grew on the witch's face. She watched hopelessly as Bellatrix continued to torture Marik.

" _Incarcerous!"_ she heard another voice cast the spell. She turned her head again to see McGonagall had been the one to cast the spell. From the look on McGonagall's face it seemed she realised now who it was Marik had been fighting. Bellatrix waved off the professor's ropes and stood over Marik's body on the ground.

"I had fun. I look forward to seeing you again, _Marik_ ," Bellatrix said to Marik on the ground, her evil smile still on her face. The witch, with a laugh that sent chills through her spine followed by a loud pop, vanished from the street.

* * *

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	32. Book3: Chapter 6

**Marik**

 _Where does one get this much garland?_ Was all that he could think of as he made his way up to the Great Hall for breakfast. The entire castle had been covered in Christmas decorations for over two weeks now, but the house elves seemed to have added even more decorations throughout the castle since yesterday.

At every corner of the castle now there was at least two tall, fully decorated Christmas trees. He even noticed a new tree had been put up next to his history of magic classroom that only had small socks as ornaments. Normally, for most people, these decorations would create an excitement that only would add to the holiday spirit they already had. He however was the Hogwarts scrooge this year.

Yesterday had been Chistmas Eve, normally one of the best days of the year in his opinion. He had been excited for Christmas Day, so much so that it took all of his self control to not open the presents Alina, Harry, and Hermione had left for him a day early.

He had started yesterday off just as he had been doing the entire holiday break so far. He walked around the grounds and took in all the snowy white sights in the morning while he woke up and his coffee kicked in, then he proceeded to lock himself into their potions lab to get some good work done on his end of year projects the rest of the day.

Over the break he had again been one of the few students to stay behind at the castle, and the only one of his friends who had not left for home. Thanks again to his dad's work with the military around this time of the year, he was now able to get ahead in his work, which at the rate third year had been going was very much needed, especially in herbology.

So far this year he had been spending a large portion of his time struggling to come up with a good herbology end of year project, and so far he had come up with absolutely nothing. No matter how much he motivated himself and no matter how hard he tried the subject was just too damn boring. He had desperately tried to find a way to combine his charms or dark arts project with a herbology one but even those ideas he found to be either impossible or just garbage.

In the end he knew that he had to find something though. Even if he managed to get three ' _M'_ marks again this year it would not be enough to beat Hermione for the number spot again. She was just too consistent across the boards, and his herbology and potions grade were the two places that were killing his rank the most.

With that thought in mind he had brought almost every book on the subject of herbology from the library that he could find down to their potions lab yesterday. After over six hours of desperate searching through all of the books though still no ideas came. In the end though he simply had to admit defeat and he had decided to try again another day.

In an attempt to get in a better mood he had started to work on some ancient runes. He was always excited to work on runes, especially since he had been working on another rune tattoo idea. This time instead of his shadow magic he was working on a rune that would infuse the _wingardium leviosa_ spell to him.

For the most part the rune work was coming along quite well. He had always found carving runes to be something that came easy to him and was relaxing in times of high stress. However his opinion of runecrafting quickly changed yesterday, and was the reason why he was still grumpy even today on Christmas.

The runes to infuse the _wingardium leviosa_ spell were much simpler than the first runes he had created for his shadow magic rune tattoo infusion. Everything had been moving along smoothly and he had been nearly done when all of the sudden his hand had cramped. With one little cramp he accidently carved one of his lines just a little too far. The result could not have been worse.

In a powerful release of energy the rune exploded in his hand and sent part of the stone like a bullet at his head. He had immediately been knocked out. It would not have been the worst thing in the world to make such a small mistake, what made it the worst thing in the world was that he had been knocked out for the entire afternoon yesterday.

So here he was now missing an entire day of studying, work, and relaxation because of a small stupid cramp. He had woken up on the floor of the potions lab only a few minutes ago to find that it was indeed now Christmas Day. If missing practically an entire day wasn't bad enough his head really hurt too! After cursing the stone with a few choice words he had then proceeded to make his way out of the lab deciding that he needed a break from the stupid potions lab for a little while, plus he was starving.

After passing another fifteen Christmas trees, each one with stranger decorations than the next, he arrived at the Great Hall. The Great Hall was completely empty of inhabitants, just as it normally was over the break. The only thing stirring throughout the hall were the enchanted lights, glimmering on the large tree Hagrid had brought in from the forest and placed behind the teacher's table. It was always so odd being in there by himself.

He found himself a seat in the middle of the Slytherin table, figuring he ought to at least sit at his house's table once during his time at Hogwarts. After staring at an empty table for a few moments at last some trays full of holiday themed breakfast foods appeared before him. He immediately dove into the bread bowl and began drowning rolls one after the next in the butter tray next to him. The buttery bread wasn't as satisfying as it normally was though when he didn't have to fight Alina the whole time to get at least once piece dipped in the butter. He frowned, and felt a wave of sadness flow over him when he thought about his best friend.

Ever since the trip to Hogsmeade back in the end of November, Alina had said probably three words to him, and none of them were very nice. He had been carried all the way from Hogsmeade to the hospital wing here at the school following his duel with Bellatrix, and as soon as Alina found out that the _cruciatus_ curse would wear off quickly and that Marik would be fine in no time she had shunned him completely.

Over the entire month of December he had tried countless times to defend himself and apologize to Alina, but she wasn't having it. She continued to ignore him and keep away from him. So pretty much of all December had sucked for him after that day. That day at Hogsmeade was supposed to have been one of the greatest days of his life, and honestly at the beginning of the day it had started off that way. He would never have dreamed it would have ended as bad as it had.

Ever since the night Marik had first met Alina by the lake and their lives had intertwined themselves he had found himself slowly getting closer to Alina. She had started off to him as just the mysterious, beautiful girl by the lake, but by the end of last year she had honestly become his best friend.

Being with Alina was easy, simple, and different than the times he was with his other friends. He was stupid, but he wasn't stupid enough to not know that he had obviously felt something for Alina ever since that night by the lake. At first what he felt was unclear, and what he was supposed to do about it even unclearer. However, one thing that had become painfully clear over the first few months with her at Hogwarts this year was that he wanted more with Alina. Being her best friend was no longer enough for him.

After taking the entire month of October to grow a pair he had finally decided to do something for Alina. He had written his mother, pleading for ideas, words, or gestures to express to Alina how he felt. Unfortunately though most of his mother's ideas were either much to embarrassing or much to weird, so he was still stuck at square one.

Over the first few weeks of November he had tried multiple times to do something. In the first week he had invited Alina outside to build a snowman with him, knowing how much she loved playing in the snow. At first things had been going well and he had even managed to get the courage to start talking to her when things began falling apart. Stupid freaking ginger Ron Weasley had crashed his broom into their snowman and all of Marik's intended words for Alina turned into jinxes at Ron.

After that attempt to express his feelings none of his other attempts had gone much better. In the end he just found it impossible to tell Alina with words what he was thinking and how he felt about her. So in the third week of November he decided that he would tried to show her with actions, remembering one of his father's favorite quotes _actions speak louder than words._

Romantic gestures however proved themselves to be even harder than transfiguration class was though. No amount of research and brainstorming shed any light on a possible idea for a romantic gesture.

After failing to be creative enough to think of any good ideas he had turned to Hermione. Explaining to Hermione what he was trying to do had been one of the hardest, most embarrassing things he had ever done in his life. He couldn't even put what he was trying to do into words for himself let alone her. Thankfully even through all of his stammering, stuttering, and failed sentences Hermione seemed to somehow understand what he had been trying to tell her and offered her help.

It had taken Hermione exactly five minutes much to Marik's amazement to come up with the idea to do something during the trip to Hogsmeade, and a measly fifteen seconds after that to come up with a plan. Hermione let him know that Mrs. Puddifoot's Tea Shop was known as most girls' favorite spot in the village, and it was easily one of the most romantic spots too. Hermione had promised him that she would drag Harry off to go look somewhere else so that he and Alina could go there by themselves.

Hermione's plan had ended up coming together perfectly. They were able to use his birthday as a good excuse for he and Alina to go separate ways, even though he knew both Hermione and Harry had already bought his presents.

The entire time he was alone with Alina his heart was pounding and he was panicking. Thankfully though he seemed to somehow calm down a little though as they both entered the first shop. Like he said before, being with Alina was easy, and spending time alone with her calmed him down. The time they spent inside the clothing store seemed to fly by, and he had done his best to make the experience a good one for Alina.

Even after buying her an expensive coat he still had wanted to give her more. Buying a coat wasn't enough to tell her how he felt. According to Hermione's plan the two of them had made their way to Madame Puddifoot's shop. For a short while the two of them had just sat and talked, as if they were the only two people in the world.

The entire time Marik had been gathering the last bits of courage he needed to make a move. Eventually he had grown a pair of balls and had made his way over to her side of their table to sit next to her. From there on the next few minutes were as close to perfect as things could get. Alina had laid her head on his shoulder and the two of them just sat there in silence for a while. For what felt like hours he just sat there, taking in the rosy smell of her hair and listening to the humming of her breathing. While neither one of them had actually said much it felt as if many silent words were spoken.

When the eventual time came for their fairytale day to end he had been upset when her head had left his shoulder. Even with as close to perfect as their time in the tea shop had been he still felt like he needed to do more. As they walked through the shop towards the exit he continued to think desperately for something else to do. At the front of the store he quickly grabbed a piece of mistletoe off the counter when he paid for their tea as a crazy idea came to mind. Trying to be smooth and unseen by Alina as soon as they had exited the shop he had levitated the mistletoe above the two of them, trying to put the perfect ending to their time together in Hogsmeade.

 _They had been so close. . ._

That perfect ending never came though. Out of the corner of his eyes, just as his lips had been mere centimeters from Alina's waiting lips he had seen Bellatrix Lestrange walking towards some other students. Something idiotic inside of him made him act stupid and he pulled his lips away from Alina's.

He had quietly cast a quick _leglock_ spell on Alina and ran towards Bellatrix while she had her back turned. It was a stupid thing to do though. In just a few seconds he had found himself barely conscious on the snowy wet ground, and his fairytale with Alina over. Instead of riding back to the castle where he had planned on then taking Alina to his favorite spot on the grounds, he instead rode back with an angry McGonagall, shouting at him the entire way.

From what he was told of the _cruciatus_ curse he learned that it was supposed to be one of the most painful things one can ever experience. Surprisingly though no pain had come when he was hit with the unforgivable curse though, he hadn't felt a thing. He had not been able to move at all and all his muscles had spasmed but he had felt no pain at least. Only worry, as he mentally pleaded the entire time all this was happening that his _leglock_ spell on Alina would not break and she would stay safe where she was.

Thankfully Bellatrix had _apparated_ when the professors showed up before anyone was seriously hurt. He had been taken to the hospital wing where the entire time McGonagall shouted at him for being dumb enough to try and fight a witch as powerful as Bellatrix. He had not argued with her, it was pretty dumb what he did.

He understood that Alina was upset at him for not only being rash and attacking Bellatrix, but for keeping her from moving as well. He honestly had acted out of instinct when he cast the spell on her. He had been trying to protect her, but never realised that she wanted to protect him too, and he had kept her from doing that. Even though he knew why she was upset it made no difference. She was still not giving him an inch.

It really did suck how far apart they felt now, especially when they had been so, so close. Ever since the break had started he had sent a letter everyday to Alina hoping that she might finally reply and respond to him. The only letter that came though was from Hermione telling him it might be best to let Alina be for a little while longer. So he was letting her be for now, even though it fucking sucked.

Trying to shake his mind of thinking of Alina anymore he started looking over the table at all the different types of food around him. Thankfully after failing to pretend eggs were interesting enough to distract his thoughts a ministry owl flew into the hall and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet on his plate. He gave the owl a piece of his bacon before it flew off and he opened up the paper.

DEATH STRIKES AGAIN

 _For the second time in less than a week the Dark Mark has been sighted over yet another home in London. Similar to the last few attacks no survivors were left at the scene. The attack that started around 4:17am this morning lasted less than a minute. Aurors, who have been on high alert ever since the first attack in the small village of Hogsmeade made by Bellatrix Lestrange in late November, arrived at the scene in no less than two minutes, but were still too late. The victims, this reporter was told, were all killed by the killing curse._

 _Although no survivors were found, thanks to a muggle device called a video camera (which is similar to a camera but takes hundreds of pictures and combines them to make the muggle pictures that move) two confirmed death eaters have been confirmed to be guilty of this crime. The first confirmed death eater is none other than Bellatrix Lestrange who has been sighted over eleven times since her escape and has been linked to five of the six attacks in London so far. The other death eater has been confirmed to be the feared werewolf Fenrir Greyback. Both death eaters managed to escape and the ministry stresses that if anyone may sight one of these two to report it immediately._

 _The victims of this attack were the McNair family. The McNair family were a muggles, making them the fifth muggle family attacked since the Azkaban breakout. The McNair's youngest boy was attending his sixth year at Hogwarts, where he was a Gryffindor. Our thoughts go out to the McNair family and hope that these attacks can be stopped before more blood is spilled._

"Merry Christmas," a quiet voice said from behind his paper as he finished reading the article. He put the paper down on the table so that he could see who it was. He had expected it to be one of the professors but was surprised to see that it was a young blonde Ravenclaw girl. If he remembered correctly he thought her name was Luna something. . .

"Merry Christmas," he replied, trying to put on a smile. The article in the paper had only added to his bad mood though and made that even more difficult though.

"Do you mind if I join you? I'm not quite used to being alone during the holidays yet," she asked him. He was caught off guard at her question but quickly motioned for her to sit.

"It's Luna right?" he asked her, already knowing the answer but wanting to make sure before he made a fool out of himself.

"Yes it is. I'm surprised you knew that," Luna said as she put a big chunk of apple pie onto her plate.

"I remember your name from the dueling tournament last year and the recognition ceremony this year. My friend Alina had told me a few times that you are one of the best in your year too," he replied.

"Alina said that about me? I was quite upset when I lost to her in that duel last year, her strategy was quite smart though," Luna replied. The small blonde girl was certainly a different girl than most girls at Hogwarts. Luna had almost white-blond hair that went all the way down to her waist. She had eyes that were greyish-silverish like his were, although hers were much darker than his were now. Luna was certainly pretty he thought. She was also certainly a little mysterious too though, especially the way she seemed to be off somewhere else in her head whenever she spoke, but overall she was a pretty girl. She had a sort of appealing mystic auror to her, whatever the hell that meant.

"Yeah, it was a good duel from what I remember. . ." he paused, trying to think of something else to say. "So if I'm not being too intrusive you said you are not usually alone on holidays, why are you still at Hogwarts this year then?" he asked the girl. Normally he was the type of person to want to be by himself, especially when he was as grumpy as he was today. But as bad as the month he was having was he welcomed the distraction.

"You're not being intrusive at all. My father got invited to eastern Lithuania to do an exclusive article with a moon frogs breeder there. He unfortunately could not bring me with him if he went so I insisted he go alone and that I would stay here this year. After all it is an opportunity he could not miss out on," Luna answered him, grabbing another slice of pie in the process.

"I'm not familiar with moon frogs," Marik replied.

"They are a rare type of frog that only come out during a full moon. The rest of the time they are invisible to the naked eye. They are actually famous for croaking songs more beautiful than even birds can sing," Luna answered him. They certainly sounded like something rare.

"I wonder if I ever saw one before when I lived in Lithuania," he pondered, thinking back to the short amount of time he had spent there.

"I doubt it. Only a few breeders have ever seen them That's why I insisted my father had to go. When did you live in Lithuania?" she asked him, staring at him curiously.

"When I was eight. My dad works for the U.S. military so we moved around a lot when I was young," he answered the blonde girl.

"That sounds fascinating, I'm sure you saw all sorts of interesting places," Luna added.

"Yeah, I did. Lithuania was actually one of my favorite places that I lived," he started to answer, finishing the roll in his hands before continuing. "So could you not stay with your mom or did she go with your dad too?" he asked her, grabbing another roll instinctively as he did.

"My mother died when I was young," Luna answered him, he immediately felt guilty.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know. . ." he tried to scramble for words but nothing came.

"Oh it's quite alright really, it was a long time ago. Why are you staying here over the break?" Luna asked him, thankfully changing the subject.

"My dad had work overseas so my parents told me I could stay here. I'm okay with it though, I actually wanted to stay," he answered her.

"Well, that's good then. Was it good or bad news today?" Luna asked him, pointing her fork at his paper.

"Bad. Another attack by the death eaters," he answered her, pushing the paper over to the girl so she could read it.

"Another muggle family I see. How terrible," Luna said after reading the article, her face never really changing its expression though.

"Yeah, it is," he replied, taking the paper back and setting it to the side.

"Didn't you have a run in with Miss Lestrange at Hogsmeade? I heard you almost beat her in a duel," Luna asked him, her eyes never leaving his.

"Not even close. She kicked my ass. But yeah I did have a little run in with her, if you want to call it that," he said.

"You should be proud then. From what all these articles have shown most people that meet her don't even get the chance to get off a spell. From what I heard you got off quite a few," Luna added, flashing him a smile for the first time since she sat down.

"I guess so. . . Thanks Luna," he said returning the smile.

"Anytime," Luna said, flashing him another warm smile. "I was going to take a walk around the grounds this morning after breakfast. Do you want to join me Marik?" Luna asked him as she stood up.

"Yeah sure, let's go," Normally he would have said no. He barely even knew the girl plus he had tons of work to do. However he was dreading going back into the lab at the moment, and the idea of carving more runes right now didn't sound as fun as it normally did. He stood up from his spot at the table and followed the blonde girl out of the Great Hall and onto the grounds, making sure to stuff one more roll into his pocket before leaving.

Even though it was the end of December and the ground was covered in snow it wasn't too cold out today. The sky for the first time in a while was almost cloudless and the sun's light was reflecting off the snow all around them.

"It's pretty out today," he commented as they started heading towards the lake.

"Yes it is. So what have you been doing over the break?" Luna asked him.

"Ancient runes mainly. I tried coming up with an herbology project but am failing quite spectacularly with that," he answered her, once again getting angry thinking about his dead end in the course.

"I'm excited to take Ancient runes next year. From what I have read it seems like a very interesting subject," Luna responded.

"It is really interesting yeah. It's one of my favorite classes now," he added truthfully.

"So why are you having such a hard time in Herbology?" Luna asked him. They turned the corner of the castle and headed towards Hagrid's hut.

"I just have no interest in the course. I can think of countless ideas for other courses but none for herbology," he answered her.

"I can see why that would make it tough. Why don't you do something with runes?" She asked him.

"I already have a project I'm doing for runes," he answered.

"No I'm afraid you misinterpreted what I meant. Why don't you do something with runes for your herbology project," Luna tried to explain again.

"Hmm. . . That isn't actually such a bad idea. I've been doing work with infusing spells into runes maybe I could infuse ingredients into a rune or something," he said, thinking out loud.

"Or you could just infuse another spell into the rune like you have been doing. For example I know that Tangleweed grows better when people sing to it. Maybe you could infuse a singing spell into a rune," Luna added.

"That is a perfect idea Luna! But you came up with it all on your own, I can't use it now. You should use it though, it is genius!" he said to the blonde girl. It really was a fantastic idea.

"No you should, I insist. I already have a project for the class anyways. I am crossbreeding Flobberworms with Dabberblimps. Their offspring produce excrement that is extremely fertile fertilizer for magical plants," Luna explained to him.

"Wow that sounds impressive too. You definitely seem to know your herbology. And thanks for the idea and your help, I really needed it today," he told the girl truthfully. Finally having an idea for a herbology project was a heavy load off his shoulders, even if he felt guilty that Luna practically did all the work coming up with the idea.

"No problem. And why today?" Luna asked them as they made their way around another one of the castle's corners.

"What?" he asked her, confused.

"You said you needed help today. Why just today?" she asked him again.

"Just been having a bad month and yesterday a lot seemed to go wrong. I was just getting frustrated is all," he tried to explain in simplest words.

"Well is there anything I can do to help?" Luna asked him. He noticed how sincere her eyes seemed to be when she talked to him. As strange as he may have the thought the girl was before today there was no denying the girl's honesty and sincerity. It made him feel good to know she was willing to help him even though they had only just met.

"You already have in more than one way, honestly. Things are already getting better," he answered Luna truthfully. She really had put him in a much better mood today. Besides just giving him an idea for a herbology project, which had been part of the root of a lot of his issues, just her company and words alone had helped make him feel a lot better.

"Well I'm glad I could be of service," Luna replied, her eyes leaving his to look at something in the sky above them. He followed her eyes up towards the sky as she stopped talking.

"They're quite the spectacular creature aren't they?" he asked her as he noted the Thestral flying over their heads in the sky. It stood out like a black comet cast against the bright blue sky.

"You can see them?" Luna asked him curiously.

"Yeah?" he answered, confused.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you mind me asking who it was?" she asked him. Her grey eyes seemed to sadden when they looked at him this time.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," he answered her.

"Thestrals can only be seen by those who have seen death. They are really quite gentle, but people tend to avoid them because they are quite. . . different. Even though they are associated with death they are truly beautiful beasts," Luna explained to him.

He honestly had not known that about thestrals. He had researched them briefly when looking up the properties of thestral hair for his cloak back in his first year, but he never had read that they could only be seen by those who had seen death before.

"So who was it that you watched die Marik?" Luna asked him. Her eyes seemed to glow extra silvery in her curiosity,

"I don't know. . . No one I can think of," he answered truthfully. He never had seen someone die. "Unless a mountain troll or basilisk counted," he answered her.

"You've seen a basilisk and a mountain troll die? I take it you are the source of some of the rumors I have heard then. But no, those would not count. Only a human's death would," Luna answered him.

"I'm not sure then. . . I saw thestrals back in my first year too so I guess I had to have seen someone die before then. . ." he tried to think again, but nothing came. "Who have you seen die Luna? You don't have to answer me if you don't want too," he asked her, feeling he might be prying to much with his question.

"My mother," Luna answered. They had stopped walking by this point and Luna's eyes went back up to the thestral that was now circling them overhead.

"I'm sorry. . ." he apologized as Luna's mother had been brought up for the second time today. "How?" he asked her.

"Don't be sorry. Like I said before it is quite alright. My mother would often experiment with magic. She was a well known spell creator during her time, and was even more well known because of how she liked to experiment a little too much. When I was nine she accidentally cast a spell that backfired on herself. She died instantly," Luna answered. The two of them just stood in silence for a few moments after that. Both of them watching the thestral fly through the air.

"They really are incredible creatures," he said, trying to change the subject from the darker topic.

"Yes, they are," Luna replied, a smile returning again to her face.

"Hey Luna, if you ever need help with anything too let me know. I owe you for today," he said, staring at her as she watched the thestrals overhead.

"You don't owe me anything. But I will keep that in mind. I'm sure I can think of something to use your help on," Luna replied, her eyes turning from the sky to meet his.

"Mr. Ose!" a voice from somewhere on the grounds, interrupting them from their conversation and thestral watching. Across the grounds he could make out the Headmaster and his beard trailing in the snow as he walked towards he and Luna. "Mr. Ose would you please follow me to my office, we have something we need to discuss in private?" the Headmaster asked him. He noted the Headmaster's usual twinkle was nowhere to be found and the Headmaster looked quite. . . sad.

"Of course Headmaster. Could you possibly discuss it with me here though, me and Luna were having a good walk? And I don't want to leave her alone out here," he asked the Headmaster. The Headmaster looked troubled at his question. "What is it sir. . ?" he asked the Headmaster, sensing from his body language that something was off.

"Mr. Ose, I would prefer if we could have this conversation in my office," the Headmaster started to say.

"Just tell me sir!" Marik shouted, which he knew he should not be doing at the Headmaster. Something was wrong though. Never in the time since he had started at Hogwarts had he seen the Headmaster look like this, nor had the Headmaster ever approached him directly like this. And it was never a good thing when the Headmaster came outside of the castle to find you. Something was definitely wrong.

"Marik it's okay. We can finish our walk another time. You should go," Luna said to him. She flashed him another pretty, warm smile. She was too kind.

"Please sir, I know something is wrong. Tell me. It doesn't matter where you tell me just tell me. . . Please," he told the Headmaster. Dumbledore again looked like he was having an argument with himself internally.

"Very well Mr. Ose, if you wish. I'm afraid I have bad news. There was another attack today. . ." Dumbledore started.

"Alina? Harry? Hermione?" he shouted the names of his friends out, interrupting the Headmaster. His stomach was doing flips at the thought that one of his friends had been attacked and was hurt, or worse. His body was shaking in fear. He had not felt a pain like this in his chest since Alina had been taken into the Chamber.

"No Mr. Ose, thankfully your friends are safe at home with their families enjoying the holiday." the Headmaster again started to answer him. A quick wave of relief came over him. He thanked the magic gods that Alina and his friends were all safe. The shaking returned along with the stomach pains as he continued to think things through though.

"Then who was attacked sir?" Marik asked the Headmaster. For a second he thought he saw the Headmaster's eyes get watery.

"I'm so sorry Mark. It was your parents. Your parent's were attacked. . . They didn't survive. Your parents were both killed. . . They are both dead," the Headmaster answered him.

 _His parents. . . Were. . . Dead. . ._

Luna and the Headmaster both continued to speak and say words around him, he heard none of them though. All he heard was the thud of the ground as his knees fell into the snow along with the crying neighs of the Thestral flying overhead.

He looked up at the creature overhead to see that another thestral had made an appearance. He watched the two beasts flew in a circle around the castle, one chasing after another before they headed off somewhere over the forest and into the horizon.

 _Mom. . . Dad. . ._

* * *

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	33. Book3: Chapter 7

**Harry**

"Harry. . . HARRY," Neville whispered beside him, tapping his shoulder and waking him up from the daydream he had been in.

"What Neville?" he said, annoyed that he was being bothered. Neville just pointed to the front of the classroom. Harry turned his eyes to see Remus and the rest of the classroom looking at him. He sat up in his chair and tried to shake himself from the thoughts he had been lost in.

"Uhh. . . Sorry sir," he apologized, guessing that he had been asked a question while he was in his trance.

"Now that you have rejoined us Harry can you tell me what the best strategy to take is when encountering a Red Cap?" Remus asked him, giving him a concerned look that looked more like one his parents might give him than one of his professors normally would.

"Yes sir. Red Caps draw their magical energy from the red cap they wear. A strategy of trying to remove the cap or changing the cap's color have been proven to be the most successful," he answered the question almost robotically, his mind still elsewhere. Luckily it was an easy question that he could have answered back in his second year.

"That is correct, three points to Gryffindor. It has also been documented that the use of a _beautification potion_ can be an effective strategy. It is well known that beauty repulses Red Caps. With that in mind your homework due monday of next week is to right seven inches on the article in your books titled, _The_ _Veela and The Red Cap_. Class is dismissed," Remus announced and the students of the dark arts classroom began gathering their things. Having never actually unpacked anything for the class Harry got up and started to leave quickly, ready to just go lay down in his bed.

"Harry, would you come here please," Remus called out his name. He turned back from the doorway and made his way over to Remus. Remus, who Harry had considered to be practically his uncle his entire life, was the current interim dark arts professor at Hogwarts. Due to the increase in death eater attacks over the past two months Kingsley had gone on leave from his teaching position to offer the ministry some help.

"Yes professor?" he asked as he arrived to thee desk at the front of the classroom.

"Now Harry, you know I asked you not to call me that," Remus told him.

"Sorry prof. . . Remus," he apologized to his uncle.

"Now I know I am no Kingsley and the topic of Red Caps isn't the most interesting but that is still no reason for you to be drifting off like that in class. Your mother would not be happy either," Remus said.

"I'm sorry," he apologized halfheartedly.

"I'm sure you are. I was going to ask how you thought I did for my first lesson, but it appeared you only caught the last few seconds of it," Remus added.

"It was a good lesson. You did good Remus. You would make a good dark arts professor! I'm sorry for dazing off like that, my mind is just. . . elsewhere today," he answered.

"Thank you Harry. Now come on," Remus said, grabbing his coat from a nearby chair's back.

"What? Where?" asked Harry.

"You need to find your head today. I'm going to help you look for it," Remus said.

Still slightly confused from the random change of plans he followed Remus out of the dark arts classroom. Remus led him through the corridors of the castle, notably taking shortcuts behind a few different suits of armor and paintings that Harry had never noticed at three different points until they found themselves out on the castle's grounds.

"Where are we going Remus?" Harry asked, amazed that they were somehow already outside.

"For a walk Harry," Remus answered him, and started walking towards the forbidden forest. For a few minutes the two of them just walked in silence along the edge of the forest. As they walked in silence his mind immediately drifted back into his thoughts. When they made it halfway across the large bridge leading to Hogwart's west grounds Remus stopped and leaned onto the railing. Harry followed his lead.

"So Harry, tell me," Remus said to him as Harry leaned over the railing.

"Tell you what sir?" Harry asked. He shifted his gaze to look out over the railing and onto the grounds of the castle. Most of the fog covering the grounds made it harder to see more than twenty or so feet off in the distance.

"Harry as much as you may look like your father you are certainly your mother's child. During my time at Hogwart's I probably spent more hours with your parents than I did without them. In all that time I spent with your mother, your father, and Sirius it became quite easy to understand them and their feelings.

"I understood after some time that Jame's hair would get even messier when he was flustered or troubled. I knew that your mother's eyes would change ever the slightest in their brightness when she was upset at your father, and I learned the distinct _you-are-a-dead-man-James_ look she would give him quite often when your father was in trouble.

"The more time you spend with people the more you learn to understand them. I've grown up with you Harry since you were born, we are practically family in every way but blood. I know when you are upset Harry, I know when something is bothering you. Now talk about it," Remus finished saying. He turned his gaze from over the railing to look at Remus. He was met by a look of concern again.

"I don't really know what to say," he replied, honestly.

"Your best friend's family was murdered not long ago. That is probably a good place to start," Remus said bluntly, staring directly at him as he spoke.

"Yeah. . ." he responded, unsure of what to say in response to that.

"And you feel responsible," Remus said, again bluntly.

"How did. . ?" he started to ask.

"Like I said, I know you Harry. And as unbelievable as it might sound I understand what you are feeling in many ways," Remus answered him, his gaze returning to look out over the bridge's railing.

"I doubt it," he said tersely. There was no way anyone could understand how he was feeling. Not even Hermione or Alina could. That was part of the reason he was feeling this way.

"Well, talk to me still. Why do you feel responsible for Marik's family's death?" Remus asked.

"Because I _am_ responsible. Bellatrix is a death eater. She wouldn't be killing people if it wasn't because of Voldemort. She probably killed them because she knew Marik was my friend and was trying to get to me," he answered Remus, feeling his emotions swell at the first time speaking out loud about the topic of Marik's family.

"I'm afraid you are wrong Harry, in many ways. And you are being selfish," Remus answered bluntly again, catching Harry a little off guard with the harshness in his voice.

"Bellatrix is the type of person who finds killing to be fun. She once tortured another death eater, someone who was on the same side as her, with the _cruciatus_ curse for three hours straight because she was bored. The poor man ended up worse than dead, and stuck in a bed at St. Mungo's for the rest of his life as a result of it," Remus responded, still staring at him.

"Still," he started to argue.

"And while we don't know if killing Marik's parents was on Voldemort's orders or just Bellatrix looking for fun, the point remains that it was not your fault. Dumbledore brought me up to speed about everything that happened in Hogsmeade between Marik and Bellatrix. If I were a betting man I would say that Bellatrix went after Marik's parents because Marik went after her, not because he was your friend. Not everything bad that happens in the world is a result of you being an enemy of Voldemort. There are as many bad things as good things that happen everyday out in the world."

"Yeah. . . Maybe. I still feel responsible for it though. So many bad things have happened to my friends, all because of me or something related to me. Alina got possessed, Marik had to fight a basilisk and almost died for it, Hermione got attacked by Malfoy, and now Marik's parents were killed," he felt a tear stream down his face as he spoke about this all.

"Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity Harry. It is natural for you to feel responsible when bad things happen to those you love. I would be more worried for you if you did not feel some inkling of responsibility for your friends. Harry, did your parents ever tell you about my trial?" Remus asked him, this time breaking eye contact with Harry to look out over the bridge's railing.

"No, what trial?" he asked, suddenly curious. He had never known that Remus had been put on trial for something.

"I figured they wouldn't have. Your mother always liked to keep your world as free from the past and bad memories as possible. As you know Harry I am a werewolf, and have been one ever since I was much younger than you are now. As you also know that when I shift my form during a full moon that most of my normal consciousness slips away and is replaced with animal instincts. I have been living with this condition all my life and like to think that I have mastered controlling it somewhat over the years. However, there have been a few slip ups over the years," Remus paused as an owl flew past them towards the school.

"After you were attacked that night years ago Harry, your family went into hiding. They cut off all contact with the outside world out of fear of being betrayed again. To feel safe they broke contact with everyone, including myself and Sirius," Remus started to explain.

"Why would they cut you and Sirius off?" Harry asked him, having never heard of this before.

"Because of Peter," Remus answered. Harry noticed Remus's fist clench at the mention of the name.

"Who is Peter sir?" Harry asked, again he had never heard of this name.

"Peter was part of the marauders. He was a friend of myself, Sirius, and your fathers. The month before you were attacked I became your parent's secret keeper," Harry started to ask what that was but Remus held a hand up when he noticed Harry's curious look. "A secret keeper means exactly how it sounds. I was in charge of keeping your family's secret. In this case the location of your home was their secret. It is quite powerful magic, and only those who know the secret would have been able to know where you and your family were living," Remus again paused and looked back over the railing.

"However in the week before your family was attacked I had my first slip-up, for lack of better words, with my werewolf form. Voldemort had been gaining strength and increasing his numbers by the day. As his numbers increased Voldemort became much more courageous in his attacks. During the war there seemed to be a killing and an attack every day, it was quite a dark time. One of these attacks came, unfortunately for me, during a full moon," Remus's fist again clinched. Harry listened on intently, interested at hearing all of these things that everyone else had failed to mention to him so far.

"Before Hemera married Sirius she was married to a man named Gregory Greengrass. Gregory was a well known politician whose family at a time was one of the wealthiest in Britain. Hemera's marriage with him was an arranged marriage, made by her father when she was young in hopes of marrying into wealth.

"Hemera hated Gregory from the day she met him, but was too obedient to her father to do anything about it. So the two of them got married. Eventually Hemera learned that Gregory had become a death eater, Voldemort had promised to make Gregory the Minister of Magic when he came to power in exchange for his services and influences inside the ministry. Hemera learned of all of this only three days before giving birth to Daphne. After Hemera gave birth to Daphne she fled from her home out of fear for Daphne's life, eventually finding protection in an old school boyfriend's home," Remus explained.

"Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Without hesitation Sirius took Hemera and Daphne in and the rest is history. The two of them quickly fell in love and got married after just a few months of dating. Shortly after that Sirius learned Hemera was pregnant with his child. I've never seen Sirius happier than he looked on that day," Remus smiled at the memory.

"A month before Alina was to be born though the Black home was attacked. Gregory had great influence in the ministry and many connections. Through those connections he was able to gain access to their floo network. With a team of death eaters they attacked Sirius, Hemera, and Daphne.

"Hemera normally would be have been able to handle herself against even five normal death eaters, but the pregnancy had taken a lot of her strength away from her. Luckily Sirius isn't a pushover either when it comes to dueling. Sirius was able to defeat everyone of the death eaters, except Gregory, who had _apparated_ away before Sirius could attack him," Remus again paused for a few seconds before continuing.

"Thankfully, neither one of them had been killed, however, the strain on Hemera's magic caused her to go into an early labor. Sirius informed your family as well as myself when they arrived at St. Mungos. We arrived at the hospital to learn that with all of the loss of magic combined with a few of the spells that had been cast near Hemera during the skirmish that her pregnancy had become a high risk pregnancy, and that she would most likely lose the child.

"When I arrived at St. Mungos and saw Sirius, my friend, look the way he looked. . . I could feel his pain and sense his despair. Sirius's world had practically come to a stop, and I was stuck watching it crash and burn, unable to help him at all. The sight tore at me in a way nothing ever had, I lost it," Remus looked like he was on the verge of the tears as he spoke.

"I stormed out of the hospital and went searching for Gregory, lusting for some revenge. At the time I was working for the ministry as a consultant on werewolfs, so I had some access to certain files in the Ministry of Magic.

"I was able to find some information fairly quickly on were rumors had it Gregory had fled to following the attack. My information led me to a large vacation home on the coast of southern England. There I found Gregory. Me and him dueled for a few minutes, going back in forth with our spells. Gregory had been a good student during his time at Hogwarts, but even still I managed to get the upper leg on him. However, I was so focused on revenge though that I failed to take notice of my surroundings. It was a full moon that night," Remus paused again, it looked like he was fighting harder to hold back tears.

"Before I even noticed I shifted into my werewolf form. Filled with anger and lusting for revenge combined with the instincts of my werewolf form I lost any control I might have had. I set out looking for Gregory again, I wanted to hurt him for hurting my friends. I never wanted to kill him though. I don't remember the rest of the night from that point on, only waking up in a forest the next day tired and confused. When I made my way back to St. Mungos I was immediately taken into custody.

"In my werewolf form I attacked Gregory with the intention to kill. And I almost did kill him. Gregory somehow managed to portkey out of there, however, his injuries were too severe. He eventually turned himself in to St. Mungos to get treatment for the severe wounds I had given him. A death eater attacked and killed Gregory that night, out of fear that when he was taken into custody he might spill valuable information.

"Because I was taken into custody your parents were forced to remove me as their secret keeper. Since I would be interrogated under _veritaserum_ they couldn't risk keeping me as their secret keeper any longer. Your parents felt that Sirius was under too much stress because of the attack and didn't want to add anything to his burdens by asking him to be their new secret keeper, so instead they turned to another friend.

"Peter Pettigrew had been one of our good friends since almost the beginning of our time at Hogwarts. Peter was a sweet boy during his time at Hogwarts and outside of your mother was one of the few people that could reel the rest of the marauders in. The Peter we knew at Hogwarts was a funny little boy who had as much determination to be a great wizard as anyone else I knew. Unfortunately, Peter was not much of a wizard, in his fifth year Peter was kicked out of Hogwarts for failing too many classes. We all still remained close friends though, however, Peter never really returned to being the sweet boy he used to be.

"Peter always had desired to be a great wizard, he had always felt left out because of his lack of magic. So when a well known powerful wizard promised to give him great power and teach him great magic; practically giving Peter what he had desired his entire life in one quick flick of a wand it comes as no surprise that Peter said yes.

"That wizard was Voldemort. Voldemort promised Peter power, glory, and great magic in exchange for his services. That service was revealing your parents' secret. As soon as your parents made Peter their secret keeper he went and told Voldemort. The next day you were attacked," Remus stopped telling the story for a few seconds giving him time to process it all.

"What happened to Peter?" he asked, feeling a bit of rage build up inside himself after hearing that his parents had been attacked because of a traitorous friend.

"He died that night. Peter in his last few moments felt nothing but overwhelming regret. In his own greed he had gotten his friends attacked. He turned himself in and was immediately sent to Azkaban. He committed suicide in his cell. . ." Remus paused again. Harry saw a tear finally escape from his eyes.

"My trial eventually ended. Because Gregory was a death eater I was let off much too easy, forced only to a few hours of community service and probation," Remus added.

"I never knew any of this sir. . . Remus. . . Thank you for telling me, but I still don't really get why you are telling me this," he responded.

"Because, I felt then much like you do now. Sometimes I still feel like you do now. The entire time I was a student at Hogwarts I felt guilty. Sirius and your father sacrificed taking extra classes, private lessons, and time in their studies to learn how to become _animagi_ for me.

"Your father was McGonagall's most prized transfiguration student and Sirius, outside of your mother, was one of the best charms student in the entire school. They threw all of that away because of me though. Becaused I was their friend they sacrificed all of that so that I didn't have to be alone during a full moon. Your father could have gone on to become the next great wizard in the transfiguration field, and Sirius too. They didn't though because of me.

"There isn't a day that goes by where I don't feel a sting of guilt at being part of the reason Sirius and your father's schooling wasn't as great as it could have been. I feel _responsible_ for that, even though they made the choice on their own. I feel _responsible_ that because I was weak and couldn't control myself that your parents were forced to make Peter their secret keeper.

"I feel _responsible_ that you and your parents were able to be betrayed and attacked because I was not able to stay their secret keeper. And I feel _responsible_ for the pain you are going through today, as if I was the one to push the first domino, unable to stop them as throughout the years they have continued to knock the next one over," Remus's eyes returned to meet his.

"Thats stupid," Harry said bluntly. Remus chuckled at his bluntness. "My dad and Sirius both went on to become aurors, which is a pretty honorable position to achieve. And you know both of them love working as analysts for the BallyCastle Bats now.

"I don't think doing a little worse in school hurt them at all, if anything it led to them both getting their dream jobs. And anyone would have gone after Gregory the way you did, it's not your fault that it just happened to be a full moon that night. How could you have kept your head completely focused with all that going on?

"And no one could have known what that would lead to, I know if you were given the choice to protect friends over revenge you would chose friends every time. And there is no way in hell you should feel responsible for me being upset now," Harry said to Remus, who just smiled at him as he spoke.

"You get your kindness from your mother Harry. Thank you for your words, you really don't know how much they mean, but I'm afraid you are being hypocritical," Remus answered.

"What?" he asked, taken aback again by Remus's bluntness.

"You tell me I have no right to feel like I am at fault for the things that happened, but yet you feel responsible for similar things. How could you, a one year old child, be responsible for Voldemort attacking your family? How could you even today be responsible for Voldemort's actions? The only thing you are responsible for Harry is surviving, and no one outside of Voldemort is upset at you for doing that.

"Your survival is responsible for giving the world light in one of its periods of darkness, not for the darkness the light vanquished. It's not your fault for living, and loving. You did not kill Marik's parents. You did not posses Alina. You did not attack Hermione. We cannot control the path the falling dominoes take Harry, we can only hope they don't fall onto the things we hold dear." said Remus, staring intently at him as he finished.

"Yeah. . . I guess you are right. I still feel awful though," he said. Remus was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He really couldn't control most of the things he was so upset about now.

"And that is understandable. The pain you feel now is a reminder of the good. It's hard to know what's good when you never see the bad. So what are you going to do Harry?" Remus asked him, turning to lean his back against the railing.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Your friend will need you when he gets back. His world will never be the same. His thoughts will try and sail the storms of his mind in the hopes of finding a lighthouse over the peak of the next dark wave of bad memories and pain. He will need an anchor. Will you be his anchor? Will you help your friend? Or will you continue to feel guilty and let him drift hopelessly out there on his own until he gets lost at sea?" Remus asked him.

"Alright I get it. I will stop feeling guilty. You are right, like always," he rolled his eyes when he said the last part. Remus smiled at it though. "It is selfish of me to be feeling so upset when Marik has things a thousand times worse. I will be there for him," he answered Remus, allowing himself a smile for the first time in a few days.

"You are a good friend Harry," Remus said, starting to walk back across the bridge towards the castle.

"Yeah, I am," he said sarcastically. "Besides, it is you who I really should be concerned about," he joked, running to catch up to Remus.

"Oh yeah? Why is that?" Remus asked playfully.

"What are you going to do with your life when Kingsley gets back from America with Marik? I don't know how you will be able to survive without giving _exciting_ lessons on the mystical Red Cap everyday," he joked again. Remus started to laugh loudly at his joke. Harry followed the temporary dark arts professor's lead after a few seconds.

The two of them made their way back up to the castle as the sun sank down over the horizon. Remus and him went their separate ways as they entered the castle. Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor common room, where he quickly made a straight line for his bed for some much needed sleep. He would need to be rested for tomorrow.

Remus's words had hit home hard. Hermione had called him out for much the same last year. His problems were never just his problems. His problems were Hermione's, Marik's, and Alina's problems too. His friends cared about him, and they were there for him in the times he needed them to be. He would make sure he was there tomorrow for his friend when Marik needed him.

* * *

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	34. Book3: Chapter 8

**Hermione**

"Have you heard anything yet?" Alina asked as she made her way over to where she and Harry were waiting.

"No we haven't. We were hoping you heard something," she said, pouting at the fact that she would not get to know why the Headmaster had summoned what looked like the entire castle to the Great Hall on a Sunday for yet.

"Whatever it is it can't be good," Harry added.

"Why do you say that? Maybe Dumbledore just wants to make an announcement or something," she argued, knowing that Harry was probably right though. Almost every time they were summoned, or Dumbledore gave a random speech that it meant something bad was about to happen.

"Yeah, right, Dumbledore wanted to bring everyone in on a Sunday to make a small announcement," Alina said sarcastically. "Have you seen him?" she asked. Hermione knew exactly who _him_ was, having been asked the same question by Alina almost routinely every time they saw each other for the past month.

"No, not today," she answered straight and to the point, noticing the usual frown that her answer placed on Alina's face.

"Figures," Alina said coldly.

"So what do you think all this is then if it isn't something bad? I didn't read anything outside of the normal in the Prophet this morning," Harry asked the two of them.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. Maybe there was another attack on a student's family and they are giving out an official warning or something," she answered truthfully, she really had no idea why they were there.

"Hmm. . . Yeah maybe. Did you hear about Kayden McCowell by the way?" Alina asked, her eyes darting around the room at the same time.

"No I didn't," said Hermione.

"Me either," Harry added.

"Her family was attacked two nights ago. The Prophet only mentioned it briefly on the last page. Her dad managed to take out one of the death eaters, some guy named Finx or something like that. Her mom and younger sister were killed though before he could take him out though." Alina said, her frown deepening at the mention of the family members being killed.

"She was a Hufflepuff right?" Hermione asked, saddened by the news of more death.

"Yeah," Alina answered.

"That's sad. At least one of the bastards is out of the way now though," Harry added, receiving a nod in agreement from Alina.

"Alina over there," she said, pointing to the entrance of the Great Hall. Just entering through the large doors was Marik, with Luna Lovegood walking in stride right next to him.

At the start of the year the sight of those two would have been a strange one to imagine, however, over the past month and some change the two of them had apparently become quite close. She was still unsure of how or why to be honest. All she knew was since Marik had gotten back from his parents' funeral in America that he had spent the little time he was outside of his classes and room with Luna, and practically no time with them at all, outside of working with Harry a few times here and there.

"Ugh why is he with that bitch again! What is his problem?" Alina asked them. She was visibly upset and fuming at the sight. Although, she was always upset whenever they saw Marik together with Luna.

"Alina really?" Harry asked her, giving her a cold look.

"Yeah I know I'm an asshole! But still he should be here with us, not with _her,"_ Alina argued the argument they had already had multiple times before. "MARIK!" Alina shouted across the Hall. Every eye turned to look at her shouting friend, including Marik's. Marik waved and then returned to the conversation he was having with Luna. "Ugh. . . MARIK!" Alina shouted again, this time waving her arm over for him to come to where they were, all the eyes in the Hall were once again on her.

From the look Marik gave Alina he seemed to be having an argument in his head about whether to come over or not. After a few awkward moments though he gave Luna a hug, which Hermione noticed resulted in Alina's hand forming a fist, and headed over to them.

"Make a big enough scene?" Marik asked facetiously to Alina as he made it to where they were waiting.

"Just figured you were looking for your _friends_ and couldn't find us, thought I would help you out," Alina said sharply, crossing her arms as she spoke to him.

"Yeah, thanks," Marik replied, his eyes quickly looking around the Great Hall and away from Alina.

"Soooo Marik do you know what this is all about?" she asked, hating the awkward silence and wanting to change the subject.

"No clue," Marik answered bluntly. Alina was about to make a comment, most likely not a nice one, at Marik's short response but was stopped as he continued. "Its got something to do with Kingsley though, he cancelled my lessons all this week because of it," Marik added.

"Hmm something with dark arts or aurors maybe then?" she thought out loud. Marik just shrugged his shoulders in response. Kingsley had only come back to the school a few days ago to resume his spot as their dark arts professor.

"So Marik, Harry was going to help me add the first layer to my _animagus_ ritual after all this, I would like it if you were there to help," Alina said to Marik, her tone noticeably changing from one of annoyance to one of hope.

"Sorry I can't," Marik answered, his eyes continued to look around the Hall, everywhere but at Alina.

"Why not? You haven't studied with _us_ in forever," Alina asked, her tone changing back to an annoyed, frustrated one.

"I already made plans," Marik answered her.

"What plans? Oh lemme guess by plans you mean _Luna_!" Alina argued back, her voice raising as she spoke, drawing eyes again from some bystanders near them.

"Alina," she tried to interrupt her friend before things got worse.

"So just like that it's all about Luna, huh? It's just that _easy_ for you to toss _me_ aside for _her_! You get to have the shoulder you need to cry on still and someone to talk to, and I get nothing! You get whoever and whatever you want and I'm left alone, in a situation that I lose no matter what. And no matter how much I actually care, and no matter what I say, I always end up being the selfish asshole girl who yelled at the kid whose parents were killed," Alina shouted, every eye in the Hall was in fact now on her.

 _Uh-oh. . ._

" _EASY?_ What part of any of this do you think is _EASY_ Alina? Please tell me," Marik shouted back, he was visibly upset at Alina's words. Hermione could see his eyes gather more water and his skin redden in anger.

"Oh so you're saying it wasn't easy to just start ignoring your best friend? And you're saying it wasn't easy to almost kiss me one day and then replace me with a girl you think is better and prettier the next! Well you sure made it look easy to me Marik!" Alina shouted back, her voice again raising. Marik looked angrier and more distraught than Hermione had ever seen him. Alina's words were definitely cutting him deep.

"If you think. . ." Marik started to argue back but was interrupted by the Headmaster, who was now standing on the teacher's stand with professor Kingsley and professor Flitwick. All of the professors were staring at their group, along with everyone else in the castle it felt like.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice," The Headmaster started to announce to the student's in the Hall, thankfully putting a temporary end to the argument between Marik and Alina. "I apologize for taking you away from your much deserved weekend but I am afraid it could not wait until monday.

In lieu of all of the recent attacks the Ministry of Magic and the minister has deemed it necessary to add further protections to our school. While I argued against this for quite sometime the ministry has overruled my concerns and decided that it will be stationing the extra, _security,_ here at Hogwarts tomorrow," Hermione noticed the emphasis the Headmaster put on his words, he obviously wasn't happy with all this, whatever it was.

"Starting tomorrow Hogwarts will be playing host to a small selection of auror guards as well as the dementors of Azkaban," A loud flurry of whispers could be heard echoing around the Hall at the Headmaster's words. "They will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that _nobody_ is to leave the school after hours without explicit permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises- or even invisibility cloaks," The Headmaster paused briefly, and she thought for a second that he made eye contact with Harry.

 _Does he know?_ She wondered to herself.

"It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our Head Boys and Girls, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors. I am told by the ministry that the aurors will make sure the dementors do not affect any of your day to day activities at Hogwarts. I also plead once more that you do not bother the aurors and dementors during their stay here. They are here only to further ensure your safety, Kingsley," The Headmaster finished announcing and professor Shacklebolt made his way forward to speak.

"With all this in mind the Headmaster and I agreed it would be best to provide you all with information on the _patronus_ spell. The _patronus_ spell is a very difficult spell, a spell that many younger students, and just as many older students will have difficulty learning. However, if even a few of you are able to master the spell, the school will be better for it," Professor Shacklebolt made his way down the steps to their level in the Hall.

"The _patronus_ spell is a powerful defensive charm that evokes a tangible positive energy force from your soul. This energy force is the primary defence used against lethifolds and dementors. Dementors feed on happy memories and thoughts, and can render one's mind to drown in the sorrow and sadness of their own soul. A _patronus_ spell is created with strong emotions of happiness, joy, and love, the very enemy to a dementor. _Expecto patronum!_ " Professor Shacklebolt cast the spell into the center of the Great Hall.

A large silver stream came spewing out of Professor Shacklebolt's wand into the Hall. As the silvery stream hit the floor it changed its form to look like a large lynx. The silver lynx started to run around the Hall and then proceeded to even bounce of some of the walls around them. She could feel a slight wave of warmth come over her as the lynx ran past her leg. The power inside the spell was strong.

"As you can see the spell is quite advanced, and requires a large amount of magic to cast and hold. We do not expect you all to be able to this, and expect many of you to strugfgle greatly with it. However, we will be providing the information on the spell as well as a few lessons throughout the week for those who wish to learn, starting now. For those who wish to take part in the lesson please remain in the Hall, for everyone else you are free to leave," Professor Shacklebolt announced to the students in the Hall. Most everyone stayed, however, a large majority of the seventh years made their way out of the Hall, she assumed many of them probably already knew the spell.

"Alright then, here is a copy of the information you will need for the spell. I would like for you all to get in groups of two and begin practicing the incantation out loud," Professor Shacklebolt announced again, and at once the Hall started to shift as everyone looked for a partner.

"Harry," Marik said immediately, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him a few feet down the Hall where they started to practice.

"Guess that leaves you and me," she said to Alina with a smile, hoping to change her friends mood.

Alina just huffed and grabbed the spell information parchment out of one of the student's near her hands. For the next thirty minutes everyone in the Hall practiced pronouncing the incantation. Professor Shacklebolt stressed that the incantation for the spell was a crucial part of its success. After her tongue started to hurt from saying the incantation so many times they all moved on to working on the proper wand movements.

The wand movement for the _patronus_ spell the most part was a fairly simple one. It was just a counterclockwise circle that formed a smaller circle as you made your way around the rotation. After Professor Shacklebolt, Dumbledore, and Flitwick checked a large majority of student's work with the wand movements they allowed for them all to began trying the full spell out with their partner.

Alina and her, along with the rest of the pairs in the Hall, took turns trying out the spell. Kingsley was not lying when he said it was a difficult spell to master. For the first thirty minutes not a single person in the Hall got even a spark of silver to come out of their wands. It wasn't until after the first hour that a sixth year Slytherin girl got a wisp of silver, but even it disappeared after a second.

" _Expecto patronum!"_ She cast the spell for the twenty-third time that night. Still nothing happened.

"Ah Miss Granger. May I?" Professor Flitwick asked as he made his way over to where she and Alina were practicing.

"Yes please, professor. I don't know what I am doing wrong," she said, not attempting to hide her frustration with not being able to perform the spell.

"Your wand movement and incantation are not the problem, they are flawless," she smiled at his obvious bit of flattery. "However, the _patronus_ spell is fueled off of happiness itself. Your mind, body, soul, and magic must be in a state of happiness to perform the spell, and right now you are in a state of frustration," he looked at her over his spectacles.

"So, let's try this. I want you to close your eyes," she did hesitantly. "Good! Now think of something in your life that made you feel happy, or joy," The professor continued.

"Okay I think I am thinking of something," she tried to focus on the memory of the Headmaster sitting in her living room, telling her that she was a witch. A smile came over her face as the memory played through her head. She remembered the first time she went to Diagon Alley, her first time seeing Hogwarts and the size of its library, and the first time she met all of her friends.

"Okay now try casting the spell, do not let those thoughts leave your mind though," Flitwick told her,

" _Expecto patronum!"_ She cast the spell again, doing her best to follow professor Flitwick's instructions. At last a large, silvery wisp emitted from her wand. Unlike Professor Shacklebolt's _patronus_ spell her spell just wafted around in the air for a few seconds before it disappeared, but at least she had cast the spell!

"Well done Miss Granger! Well done! Just like that everytime now. You need to focus more on the memories now and allow their emotions to travel deeper into your magic. The more positive emotion you draw from the memory the more powerful the spell," Professor Flitwick explained, before bouncing over to help Harry and Marik.

"Congrats Hermione!" Alina said as she made her way closer, smiling for the first time that night. Leave it to you to be one of the first in the school to learn it. Now spill what he told you!" she explained to Alina the same thing that professor Flitwick had explained to her and for the next hour they continued to practice the spell.

After another ten casts or so she had been able to produce a much larger amount of energy than her first cast, however Professor Shacklebolt told her that it would take many more days of practice before she would be able to start getting her _patronus_ into a corporeal form. Alina also started to get the hang of the spell too after another twenty or so casts, and was able to also produce a decent amount of silver energy from her wand. After a while longer of practicing, her and Alina took a quick break to get back some energy. Hermione turned to watch Harry and Marik practice as she sat down.

Harry seemed to have picked up the spell about as quick as she had judging by the fact that he was producing just as much energy as she had produced with her casts. Marik on the other hand was a different story. Although he was doing the incantation and wand movements perfectly not a single spark of energy ever left his wand.

He was struggling so much that at one point a greenish black smoke came out of his wand instead of the silver colored energy that was supposed to. Professor Shacklebolt had by this point stopped walking around the Hall to help out the struggling Marik, who was practically his protegee. Even with the help from professor Shacklebolt, Marik's _patronus_ attempts got no better. After another thirty minutes of trying Marik ended up storming out of the Great Hall in frustration. Hermione heard Alina start cursing under her breath when she saw that Luna had left the Hall shortly after Marik's departure.

"Ugh is it bedtime yet? I am so tired," Harry complained as he made his way over to where they were taking a break.

"Almost, it's already nine. Kingsley said we would be done shortly after nine-thirty though so we are almost done," Alina answered.

"IT'S ALREADY NINE?" she shouted in panic. She quickly grabbed her school bag and started to sprint towards the door of the Great Hall.

"Hermione where are you going in such a rush?" Harry shouted at her as she ran.

"SNAPE!" was all she shouted as she made her way out of the Great Hall. In a full sprint she ran through the Halls' of the castle towards the dungeons, almost tripping over a few stairs Peeves had enchanted to shrink along the way. As she arrived at Snape's office she allowed herself a brief moment to catch her breath before entering.

"Miss Granger," Snape sneered as she opened his door.

"I'm so sorry sir! The Headmaster. . . Dementors. . . Tough spell. . ." She tried to get out a full sentence but was too out of breath.

"I figured you would be missing our lesson tonight Miss Granger, I was aware of the lessons Albus and Kingsley would be giving you," Snape said, returning his gaze from her back to the potion he was brewing.

"Oh. . . Well good," she responded, surprised and a little caught off guard by his reaction. She had expected him to give her a full lecture about being late or cancel their private lessons for the rest of the year for wasting his time. "Well If you don't mind we still technically have thirty minutes, and I have some questions," she said to Snape.

"We _technically_ have twenty-six minutes Miss Granger. Sit," Snape said, and pointed to the seat next to his. She quickly made her way over to the chair and started examining the potion Snape was brewing.

"Thick texture, deep orange color, smell of tears, wood, and glass. . . You are brewing the _oculus potion?"_ she asked him, already knowing she was right.

"Correct Miss Granger. What can you tell me about it?" Snape asked her as he added a mandrake to the brew.

"The _oculus potion_ is a strong healing potion that has the power to restore the drinker's sight. It also can counteract the effects of the _conjunctivitis_ curse _,"_ she answered him, all the feelings of frustration from her failed attempts at the _patronus_ spell leaving her. Unlike the _patronus_ spell, this stuff she new.

"Correct. What do you notice is different about this particular batch compared to a normal brew?" Snape asked her.

"Hmm. . ." She leaned in closer to the cauldron. The smell of the potion seemed to be normal enough, maybe a little off from normal, but not by much. The thickness of the potion was exactly how it was supposed to be. That left. . . "The color! This batch has specks of silver in it. Although, I'm not sure I know why. . ." She started off happy to arrive at Snape's answer but ended up upset that she did not know the entirety of the answer.

"Well done Miss Granger. The specks of silver you noticed are a combination of dew grass picked under a full moon soaked in centaur blood. The combination and timing of the collection of the ingredients can completely change the purpose of the potion as you can see," Snape started to explain.

"How is that?" she asked curiously. She had never used either ingredient in a potion before.

"Dew grass picked during a full moon retains energy from the moonlight during the brewing process, but only for a few hours. And centaur blood is commonly known to be useful for many things in the field of astronomy and divination. The combination of the two in the potion helps to provide a different form of sight. Instead of providing the drinker physical sight, it helps to promote the mind's sight," Snape explained.

"Interesting. So it uses the base of the potion to create the desired sight effect the brewer desires, while at the same time altering the magic in it to provide the different effect form from the norm. What does it do to promote the mind's sight?" she asked again.

"I myself have never tested the potion, but from what Sybil tells me the potion helps remove many of the clouds in one's mind when looking into the future. This batch is for her," Snape put a lid on the cauldron as he finished explaining. "Now, Miss Granger I will save our lesson on the _jagino_ _potion_ for our next meeting when we have more time, you said you had questions. Ask," Snape ordered.

"Yes I do," Hermione collected her thoughts. "Have you ever heard about the _demomagus potion_?" she asked him about the potion she had first heard of over a year ago.

She had been researching the _demomagus potion_ ever so often ever since she had found the suspicious documents in the minister's desk. All of her and her friends research had led to zero results though. Their was not a single book in the library at Hogwarts or the one in Paris near her family's vacation home that even mentioned the potion. After getting nowhere for so long, and getting sick of hitting dead ends she had finally decided to risk it and ask Snape if maybe he knew anything about the damn potion.

"Yes I have. . . Why do you ask Miss Granger?" Snape asked her, eyeing her suspiciously.

"I only have heard about it in brief mentions. I haven't been able to find anything on it more than just the name though. It has been driving me mad not knowing or being able to find a single book on it," she said, technically telling the truth for the most part.

"I would be surprised if such a book still existed, or at least was out, available for the public," Snape responded.

"Why is that sir?" she asked him, intrigued by what information Snape might have. Even if it was something small, something was always better than nothing.

"Because the _demomagus potion_ is banned in Britain and most of Europe. Most books that mentioned the potion were confiscated by the ministry during the Great War and burned," Snape answered. Well that would explain why she couldn't find anything on the potion.

"Why was it banned sir?" she asked Snape, again wanting to know more.

"The _demomagus potion_ is a potion thats origin can be traced back to Roman times. Its name is Roman itself. The words in Roman mean _remove magic_. It was a potion used by the upper magical elites on the lower classes and slaves, and has been used by many people throughout history in the same way. When someone drinks the potion their magic is condensed entirely into their bloodstream. From there as new blood is made the condensed magical blood would eventually be replaced and the drinker would lose all of their magic.

"This is the most common use of the potion that can be observed throughout history. However, in certain periods of time, like during the last war, the potion was used _differently_. Somewhere along the timeline of the _demomagus potion's_ lifespan someone discovered that if you drew out the blood of someone who had drank the potion, that you could essentially draw their magic out from them. This gave certain, _individuals_ , the idea to draw the magical power from a great number of people and infuse it into their own. After the ministry learned of this they banned all practices of brewing the potion and collected any books that mentioned it," Snape finished explaining.

Her mind was absolutely and completely blown. Never would she have guessed the potion could be used for something like that. Not only was the concept of the drinker losing their magic frightening enough, but the fact that people had essentially stolen the magical power from other people through the potion to make it their own was terrifying. As well, the fact that the ministry document said they would begin testing the potion on muggleborns only made everything Snape said worse.

 _Why were they testing it on muggleborns? To just remove their magic? To see if the effects were actually true? To steal it?_ A thousand thoughts were running through her head. Something was definitely not right.

"Miss Granger?" Snape said to her, looking at her with his eyebrow raised.

"Sorry sir, I was just taking it all in. I had no idea it would be something like that. Thank you for answering my question," she thanked Snape. His information, while it did evoke a hundred new questions, did really help out with solving the puzzle.

"Of course. Now Miss Granger I'm afraid our time is up. I will see you tomorrow in class," Snape stood up and led her to the door of the potion's lab. She exited the potion's lab and started to make her way towards the Ravenclaw common room, her mind racing with thoughts about everything she had learned.

 _Why on earth would the ministry be testing a potion like that? And especially why after they had made such a big deal about removing all the books about the potion._ She wondered to herself. Hundreds of questions flew through her mind as she walked through the Halls of the castle.

She was almost back to her common room when the sounds of people shouting interrupted her train of thought. She turned another corner past her common room's entrance to check out the source of the yelling. It came as a surprise to see the yelling was between Alina and Marik. Apparently their argument had extended from the Great Hall out into the castle.

"Guy's what is going on?" she shouted at her friends as she made her way closer. Both of them were too heated and caught up in their argument to notice her.

"So kissing _Luna_ was the freaking plan you made instead of being with your _best_ friend!" Alina shouted down the Hall at Marik.

"For the tenth time you know we were not kissing! You aren't blind Alina! A hug and a kiss are two different things! And Luna is my friend too! It isn't all about you all the fucking time Alina!" Marik screamed back.

"How would I know they are different things Marik? All _I_ know about kissing is that you pretend to like someone, tease them, then you go almost get killed by a crazy bitch! And then to make the _kissing_ even better you ignore the person you almost kissed for a whole freaking month! And this isn't just about me it is about _us_!" Alina shouted back. Hermione could hear the tears behind her words.

"If you remember correctly you ignored me for a whole fucking month too Alina! And you are seriously bringing up that again? Seriously? I'm done apologizing to you about that! And what about us Alina? There is no _us!_ " Marik argued.

"There is too an _us!_ I'm your best fucking friend you asshole! And the way you are treating me now is not fair!"Alina shouted, tears flowing in full force down her face.

" _Fair_? You want to bring up _fair_? My parents were fucking _murdered._ Only a month ago my parents were killed Alina! Life isn't _fair_! You are too selfish worrying about getting what you want to realise that though!" Marik argued.

"You know that isn't what I meant Marik. You know that! And even still that's still no reason to treat your friends like shit and throw me away! You lost your parents, but you still have me. I am just trying to be your friend Marik. I am just trying to be here for you, but you won't let me!" Alina cried out again.

"Maybe. . . maybe, I just don't want you here Alina!" Marik shouted, Hermione could see him shaking.

"You. . . I _hate_ you! _Stupefy!"_ Alina shouted the stunner as she raised her wand and pointed it at Marik. Hermione quickly pulled out her wand and went to go throw up a shield in front of Marik. However, she found herself unable to. Her arm was being held down by a shadowy arm.

 _This is Marik's magic._ She thought to herself. She looked up to see him make eye contact with her for a split second, he was shaking his head at her.

Marik didn't even try to deflect Alina's spell, but instead took the full brunt of the stunner right in the chest. His body went flying back through the Hall and landed with a thud.

"Alina!" she shouted at her friend. Alina ignored her though and ran off in the opposite direction, her cries echoing through the Hall. Hermione ran quickly over to Marik's unconscious body. She cast a the rejuvenation spell on his body.

"You okay?" she asked him as he she helped him sit up. "And I know it's a stupid question."

"It doesn't hurt too bad," Marik answered as he stood up.

"Good," she punched him hard in the arm. "That's not what I meant."

"I know," Marik answered, brushing off some dust from his robes, and rubbing his arm where she had hit him.

"You know you just crushed her world," she said with some venom in her voice.

"Yeah. . . I know," Marik sighed.

"You know I have to leave you now to go check on her," she told him, releasing him.

"I know. Thanks Hermione," Marik thanked her as he stood up.

"Don't thank me," she replied, helping him up.

"I know, but still. Thank you," Marik said, his voice shaky and hollow.

"Stop being such an ass now please," was all she answered with as she headed down the Hall after her Alina.

* * *

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	35. Book3: Chapter 9

**Alina**

"About time you showed up, I was just about to leave," she said as Harry at last showed up to their potions lab.

"Sorry! I had McGonagall looking over some of my transfiguration spell creation theories. I think I finally have my spell creation project idea polished out," Harry said, sitting down and pulling notes out from his bag.

"Does that mean I finally get to hear what it is?" she asked him, hoping he would finally tell her.

"Only if you promise not to tell Hermione. I think I might actually have a shot for spell creations this year, and I want to see her face on presentation day if I manage to pull it off," Harry said, putting the last of his notes and books on the desk.

"Deal!" she said, excited to finally know what his project was on. If he thought it had a chance to compete with Hermione's complex time magic it had to be good.

"Okay, so me and Hermione were reminiscing a few weeks ago when we were having that picnic on the grounds," Harry started.

"You meant that _date_ on the grounds," she teased him. She loved watching Harry squirm whenever she brought up the subject of he and Hermione possibly dating.

"It was not a date! I guess you don't want to know then!" Harry argued back.

"Fine! I'm sorry! Please continue!" she pouted.

"Like I was saying! We were talking about the time I had to go to the hospital wing in my second year when Dobby popped into this room halfway through my _animagus_ ritual. Hermione told me that I was so high on the numbing potions that I kept saying weird and funny things. One thing I kept telling her was that wings were a good idea. I was so drugged on the potion I totally forgot about the idea until Hermione brought it back up. But since I remembered the idea I have been working on some theories and calculations to get my idea to actually work," Harry explained. He looked like a kid in a broom shop as he bounced in his chair excited.

"Still not sure I'm fully following you," she said, still a little confused.

"Here look," he handed her his notes. She looked the spell creation theory over and examined all of the math before she started to grasp where he was getting at.

"You want to give yourself wings? That is such a badass idea! How have more people not done this?" she asked him excited.

"I honestly don't know. I asked McGonagall earlier and she said it was most likely due to the fact that most people just learn how to apparate when they want to travel somewhere and that is good enough for them, and the spell will be tough as shit to actually get working. Here look at this." He flipped through a few pages until he came to a page that looked more like a work of art than a spell creation.

"I have no idea what I am looking at here," she admitted to him.

"Exactly. I have been trying to find a way to make the process easier, but there is pretty much no wiggle room with it. Right now I have the spell incantation down, but the casting process is just like the _animagus_ process. I will have to add two additional layers to my _animagus_ ritual it's looking like, one for each wing. And each layer will have to be added in between layers that are already created which is. . ." Harry explained.

"Pretty close to impossible," she finished his sentence.

"Yeah. McGonagall said though if I managed to do it somehow that I would be pretty much guaranteed to get tons of honors, publishing opportunities, and of course the ' _M'_ mark in the course," Harry said, smiling ear to ear.

"I believe it to. Although we already knew you had the ' _M'_ mark for your year. Has any third year ever completed a full _animagus_ transformation and started going further like you have?" she asked him. It really was hard to believe.

"Not that I have heard of. McGonagall completed hers in her fourth year from what she has told me, and outside of a few doctors who have practiced transfiguring animal lungs into human lungs for medicinal purposes there hasn't been anything quite like my idea," Harry answered her.

"Damn. Well congrats Harry. I really am impressed. How long did McGonagall say until you are able to add the last layer to your ritual and complete your _animagus_ form then?" she asked him.

"A little more than a week. She wants one of her colleagues from Belgium to come observe. They are doing a joint paper on felidae _animagi_ so she asked me to wait until then. Speaking of which, she wanted me to take notes on your second layer today. Do you mind if she takes a copy of my memory of this and observes it on a pensive later with her colleague? She was going to discuss it with you in your next private lesson with her, but I told her we were doing your second layer today so she wanted me to ask," Harry said to her.

"No, of course I don't mind. What did she say when you told her we were adding my second layer today? She wanted me to wait a little while longer but I just can't, I'm too anxious," she asked Harry.

"She said the same thing. She wants you to wait a little longer, but you know that is just the parent side of her always wanting her kids to play it safe. I'm sure she knows you are ready," Harry answered her.

"I hope I am. I barely slept at all last night. I kept going over all my notes worried I was forgetting something important," she said honestly. Last night had indeed been hell, and the bags under her eyes were a testament to that.

"You will do fine. Your first layer came along just as good as mine did and you were able to master that layer in just a month. Today will be a walk in the park," Harry said, boosting her confidence.

"Thanks Harry. And Thanks again for helping me out today. I didn't want to do this alone," She said, giving her cousin a smile.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world! I told my dad by the way about everything, so I am sure your dad will be writing you today asking how it went, sorry," Harry told her, laughing a little at the last part.

"Thanks Harry! Now I'm going to have to write my dad everyday this week exchanging notes! What at least did your dad say about your idea?" she asked, dreading the onslaught of letters her father was about to send her.

"Said the usual he is proud and what not. He said he wants to come to the school with your dad when I do my final _animagus_ transformation. He says it is best if you have some other _animagus_ to run around with your first time. Plus I think he and Sirius are placing bets with some people at work about which one of us will be the fastest in a race," Harry laughed. That sounded like something their fathers would do.

"Wow, they would. So are you ready to get started?" she asked him, feeling like she could not wait anymore.

"The question is are you ready?" Harry replied.

"Yeah, I am," She nodded.

"Alright then let's go. Do you want me to do anything with the lights like last time or are you good?" he asked her, standing up and making his way over to the open space they used for practicing spells.

"No let's leave it bright this time please. I should be good with everything else, and you know the drill if I fuck up," Alina said, hoping she would not mess up.

"Alright whenever you are ready then," Harry replied.

She stood up and made her way over to near where Harry was. Today she would be adding the second layer to her _animagus_ ritual spell. She had practiced her first layer spell countless times already with Harry and had seen him perform his second layer spell even more times. She knew she had this down, but she was still nervous regardless. The spell required immense concentration and focus. Throughout the entirety of the spell she would have to hold her magic open, concentrate on her form, and weave a new ring into the ritual.

She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, trying to get it into a rhythm. As she felt her heartbeat slow and her breathing relax a little she began to picture her jaguar form. She imagined the tawny-yellow color of the base of her fur, and the rosettes that dotted it all over. She focused on the claws that would emerge from her paws once she began. As the image became clearer in her head she dropped to her knees and readied herself to begin.

 _Here we go._ She told herself and began the ritual.

Even with her eyes closed she could feel the gold ring of the first layer of her ritual forming around her. As she continued to focus the feeling of her hands changing challenged her as it always did to keep a steady breathing pattern and a clear mind. There was the usual slight bit of pain that she had grown used to as her claws pushed themselves through her skin. Her hands grew warm as the fur thickened and she knew the first layer of the spell was just about complete.

Once the first layer was fully formed she took a few moments to collect herself and again make sure she was fully relaxed and concentrated. She could already feel the strain on her magic and knew it would take even more focus to get through this next part right and without any mistakes. She moved the image of the jaguar to the back of her mind and focused on the image of the gold ring she knew her second layer would take. Once the image was in her mind she pushed the magic out of her skin and started to weave the second layer around her feet.

As she could begin to feel the ring of the second layer begin to take form a new feeling began to come over her body, mainly in her feet. She allowed the feeling to wash over her, even though it was uncomfortable and her body was not used to it. She continued to focus on weaving the ring around her as the sensation inside her legs grew stronger. With the strain on her body and her magic she was finding it even tougher to concentrate.

She added the last few details to her second ring and pushed the last few bits of needed magic through her pores. As soon as the last line was drawn the sensation in her feet doubled. Sharp bits of pain went up her legs as she felt them begin to shift themselves under her. She could feel her bones bending and changing under her skin. Her toes felt as if they were expanding and contracting at the same time as they shifted into paws. The temperature in her legs grew hot as fur sprouted up along them. She focused more, making sure to imagine the exact colors and textures of a jaguar perfectly in her mind.

Only a few more seconds before it would be finished. The last shots of pain died down and the feelings in her legs returned to one that felt normal. She opened her eyes for the first time to look herself over. Her hands were now the paws she had grown use to and seen countless times already. For the first time though she got to see her _animagi_ legs. They were long and slender, and looked to be built for running. Their fur matched the color of her paws and contained just as many rosette spots on them. After a few more seconds of examining her form she felt the rings disappear under her and her body quickly shifted back into her human form.

 _She had done it!_

"Congratulations!" Harry said, extending a hand out to her to help her up. She took it and slowly got to her feet, feeling slightly dizzy as she stood up.

"How did I do? I think everything went perfectly!" she asked, feeling the excitement rise in her.

"It did go perfect, just like I said it would. Much better than my first attempt at the second layer," Harry answered.

"Well that wasn't your fault now was it?" she added, knowing that Harry's first at his second layer had gone awfully wrong even though she had not been there to see it.

"Sirius will be proud," Harry said, as he grabbed a seat at the table. She followed his lead, her legs feeling a little weak and wobbly still. She grabbed one of the _pep-up potions_ from the table that Hermione had brewed for her a few days back and quickly chugged it.

"Ugh Don't remind me. He is literally going to write me everyday. I honestly feel like I should get a grade for writing him as much as I do. I think I have written more letters to him alone than I have essays this year," she whined.

"Oh stop complaining. You would hate it the second he stopped writing you so much. And it could be worse, you could have no parents to write to," Harry said.

"Please don't remind me. . ." she said, wanting to avoid this topic. The room got silent for a few seconds after that, neither one of them knowing what to say next.

"Well I was planning on hanging around her for a little longer to work on my potions project. You have anything else you need to work on?" Harry asked her, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah I guess I should work on my herbology project. Sprout keeps telling me _a_ _Hufflepuff should always be number one in herbology_ ," she tried to say with her best sprout impression.

"What where you ranked in herbology last year again?" Harry asked her, as he moved to grab some flasks from the cabinet.

"Third. Herbology and history were my only classes where I wasn't ranked in the top two," she answered.

"Who got one? Was it Ginny?" Harry asked her.

"No Ginny was second. It was freaking Luna _Lovebad_ ," she answered, making it a point to add some venom in her words.

"Oh," was all Harry said. She could tell he was trying to avoid talking about the topic with her. She honestly couldn't blame him.

"So, what are you working on this time with your potion's project? Did you ever find a substitute for hazelwood?" she asked him, trying to procrastinate longer on doing herbology work and change the subject.

"Yeah, I did. The twins gave me my solution actually. They use burnt pine instead of hazelwood in their self-writing-quill-ink because it is a lot cheaper and works the same. So I tried it out and it worked flawlessly," Harry answered her. He had already started to pull out some of the ingredients for his brew.

"I am always amazed that those two are able to do half the things they do. Did you really invest your entire five-hundred galleon research grant from this year on them?" she asked, hoping what Hermione had told her wasn't true.

"Who told you that?" Harry asked her curiously.

"Who do you think?" she answered.

"I should have known she would. Yeah I did. I figured it was the best way to use the money. Plus I like the twins and what they are doing. And besides they aren't too different than us anyways," Harry said.

"How are Fred and George Weasley anything like us at all?" she asked, wanting to know what on earth Harry was talking about.

"They are pushing the boundaries of magic just like we are, only in their own way. It may come as a surprise to you but Fred was ranked second in his year in charms and transfiguration, and George was ranked third in potions and first in spell creations. You can tell it too in their work. The amount of complex charms needed to create half the stuff they have created is impossible to fathom, and even Hermione was impressed when she saw the recipe and ingredient list that George was using in their Lucky Dip," Harry answered her.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. It is just hard to picture it in reality when they always cloud everything with jokes and sarcasm. What did you invest so much for anyways though?" she asked him.

"They just got official ministry patents on all of their finished products so far. They are going to start running a store to sell all their products hopefully starting this summer," Harry answered her.

"How are they going to run a store and go to school at the same time?" she asked him.

"They are still working a lot of the small things out. But they already have a storage area set up at their house. They just needed to buy a bunch of owls to ship the products when someone places an order. And that is why I invested, with that money plus a little more I promised to give them later on they will have enough owls to get off the ground, no pun intended," Harry answered, laughing at his own joke.

"I still think it was a dumb investment. You could have bought me something with the money," she said sarcastically.

"Oh you're right, what was I thinking?" Harry joked. "Here come help me grind up this bark," Harry said. She gladly accepted the invitation to help him and not work on her herbology project.

"So how. . ." Harry started to ask her a question but was interrupted as the entire room shook, knocking over a few vials of ingredients Harry had on the table.

"What the hell was that?" she asked Harry frantically, the room was still vibrating a little.

"I have no clue, maybe Peeves pulled a prank or something," Harry answered, picking up some of the vials that had spilled over.

"That was one hell of a prank, the room is still shaking," She commented, helping Harry clean up the vials. The two of them cleaned up the spilled vials and went back to working as the shaking in the room seemed to die down. After a few more seconds though the room shook again, this time a little more than the last.

"Okay, there is no way this is a prank. Baron would have caught Peeves by now," Harry said as more of his vials spilled over.

"Maybe we should go check it out?" she asked Harry.

"Yeah, I think we should," Harry answered.

"Let's go then," She grabbed her wand from the table and headed to the door. As soon as she opened the door to their potions lab panic instantly set in.

She could hear screams echoing through the walls of the castle. Behind the shrieks the sound of spells being fired could be heard coming from what sounded like every direction. She turned to look down the hallway of the dungeon their room was in and could see bright flashing lights from all sorts of spells reflecting off the walls.

 _What the hell was going on up there._

"Alina. . ." she heard Harry say from behind her as he made his way out into the hall, and was seeing what she was seeing.

"What is going on?" she asked him, clutching her wand tighter in her hand.

"Nothing good. Come on," Harry grabbed her arm and started heading towards the dungeon's stairs.

"Harry maybe we should wait down here," she said, not fully believing in her suggestion herself. She had no idea what was happening up the stairs though.

"No we need to see what is going on. It's just you and me down here which means if something bad is happening up there. . ." Harry didn't finish his sentence. It was okay though, she knew what he meant and was trying to say anyways.

"Okay lead the way then Harry," she said, following him up the stairs. When they made it to the top of the stairs it took a few seconds for her mind to fully grasp what she was witnessing. All around them students were running and screaming in panic. There were chunks of castle wall scattered across the floors, and a few pieces of shattered artwork and paintings among the rubble. Down the main hall towards where a number of their classrooms were she could see fire spreading on the floor. It was pure chaos here.

"Harry what the hell happened," she asked him, still in disbelief at what she was seeing.

"They did," was all she heard Harry say, his voice filled with malice. She looked to where he was looking down the hallway. Her eyes landed on a group wizards in dark black cloaks throwing spells at a group of students. At the tail end of their spells looked to be a few students who had decided not to run with the rest, along with a few professors who were returning spells.

"Death eaters. . ." she mumbled under her breath.

"Let's go, I need to find Herm. . ." Harry started to say but was interrupted as a large ball of fire came flying at them. Harry tackled her to the side and luckily out of the way of the flame. They both stood up quickly, wands raised. She reeled her head looking for the source of the spell that had been sent at them. She found a tall cloaked figure in a mask sprinting right at them from down the hallway.

" _Stupefy!"_ She aimed the spell at the death eater charging them.

" _Ennervate!_ Stupid little girl! _Avada kedavra!"_ The death eater countered her spell and sent the killing curse right at her.

" _Speculum!"_ she heard Harry cast the mirror spell next to her. The death eater's spell was reflected off the mirror and sent up towards the ceiling of the castle.

" _Reducto!"_ The death eater without hesitating sent another powerful spell right at them.

" _Protego totalum!"_ She cast the shield up around them.

" _Legilimens!"_ Harry cast the spell as the death eater's _reducto_ spell collided with her shield. As soon as the light from the spell vanished off the shield allowing her to see again she saw the death eater just standing still. After a few seconds he raised his wand, but instead of pointing it at them he raised it to his own head.

" _Stupefy!"_ the death eater shouted the spell. The spell left his wand and collided with his own head. From that short of a range the powerful spell sent the death eater flying at extremely high speeds where he collided into a wall with a loud crack and thud before landing on the floor, unconscious.

"What the hell just happened?" she shouted at Harry, unsure of what she had just witnessed.

"Later! I need to find her," Harry shouted back and started to run.

"Harry, when you find her let's all meet back at the lab okay?" she asked him.

"What? No! You are coming with me!" Harry turned and shouted back.

"No I'm not. You have to find her and I. . ." she found that she didn't want to say the rest out loud.

"Have to find _him_. . ." Harry said quietly, walking slowly back to where she was standing. "Still?" Harry asked her.

"Always," she answered quietly, the words tearing at her throat like blades of steel.

"You don't have to you know," Harry added, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I know I don't. Neither do you," she replied, resting her hand on his.

"I know," Harry said, leaving his hand on her shoulder for another brief moment before returning it to his side.

"The potions lab then?" she asked him.

"Yeah. The potions lab," Harry answered, flashing a smile to her.

"Be safe," she told him.

"You too Alina," Harry said, standing still for a few more seconds before he sprinted off down the hall towards the charms classroom, where Hermione was currently supposed to be in. She continued to stand still for a few moments, unsure of what to do, or where to go.

 _It's past eight on a Thursday. Which meant. . . He could literally be anywhere. . ._

Deciding that standing still was not her best option she started to sprint down the hallway towards the front gate of the castle, maybe she would get lucky there. All around her was chaos. Fire, rubble, and dust were in whichever direction she looked. Every hundred feet or so she could see a body on the floor, either unconscious or. . . Most of the bodies were not death eaters.

As she made her way towards the Great Hall and the front gate the chaos only grew. More people were here than elsewhere in the castle. She could see professor McGonagall dueling two masked figures at the same time, and four death eaters trying without success to take down Flitwick who was completely in the zone, sending spell chain after spell chain towards the death eaters. Students, most of which who looked to be fifth years and up, had also taken to dueling. There seemed to be at least twenty different duels going on at the same time throughout the main hall alone.

She scanned over each duel, hoping she could find him. There was no luck though, she didn't recognize any of the students she saw. A loud explosion echoed through the main hall as a huge ball of fire burst through a wall to her right, sending chunks of the castle all over the place. The hole in the wall revealed even more chaos as she could now see into the Great Hall. Chunks of table, glass, and robes were flying all over the place as students, teachers, and death eaters dueled.

On top of two of the house tables five different death eaters were running while throwing spells at a Headmaster Dumbledore, who was countering each one with ease from atop the teacher's table. From her spot in the main hall Alina watched the Headmaster duel in awe. Without even a wand in his hand he had a chain of grey magic in one hand and was sending countless waves of odd colored spells from his other.

Each of the Headmaster's spells collided with pinpoint accuracy, sending one death eater to the ground after another. At one point two of the death eaters combined what looked like two powerful _incendio_ spells together and sent them towards the Headmaster. Without even turning to face them the Headmaster flicked his wrist and collected the raging fire into a ball. The Headmaster transfigured the ball of fire in the blink of an eye into a raging ball of water and sent it at the death eaters. Alina watched as the two death eaters became stuck in the ball of water, unable to escape. She watched as they both drowned in the water and their bodies fell to the floor of the Great Hall limply.

 _Holly shit. . ._

Even though almost every death eater inside the Great Hall had their attention on the Headmaster, Dumbledore was not the only one dueling inside the Great Hall. In between each of the house tables were countless number of students throwing spells at nearby death eaters, and having spells thrown back at them.

 _Maybe she should have stayed in the potions lab._ She looked desperately at each duel taking place, pleading internally that she would see him. It was no use though, there was too much happening for her eyes to get a focus on anything. She ran into the chaos of the Great Hall, hoping she could find him.

As she entered the Great Hall she put herself on full alert, keeping an eye out for any spell that might have missed someone and could hit her. She found herself having to duck and dive more than a few times as she made her way further into the Great Hall.

" _Incarcerous!"_ she heard a death eater a few feet away from her shout the spell. She turned her gaze to see who the ropes were aimed at. Luckily they were not aimed at her. A flurry of ropes left the death eater's wand and found themselves wrapping around a blonde girl who had her back turned to the death eater while she was dueling someone else.

 _That looked like Luna. . ._ She thought to herself. Part of her was saying good riddance, a large part of her was screaming for her to do something and help. She stood there unmoving for a few seconds having an internal conflict about what to do.

 _Fuck me!_ She shouted at herself mentally and raised her wand.

" _Diffindo, rensa maho!"_ she shouted as she cast the spell chain. The first spell was a seam splitting spell that cut enough of the ropes to allow the blonde girl to get out of the ropes.

 _Of fucking course it is Luna._ She thought to herself, cursing her luck. Her second spell was the chain magic spell, that sent a long black chain at the death eater. The death eater had his full attention on Luna and his ropes and never saw her chain coming. The strong chain wrapped itself around the death eaters neck and she threw him across the Hall into a nearby wall. She heard a loud crack as the death eater's head collided with the brick wall.

"Thank you. . . Alina. . ." Luna said to her as she stood up from the spot on the ground she had been tangled up in.

"Shut up! I didn't do it for _you_ ," she hissed back at the blonde girl.

" _Expulso!"_ Someone cast an explosion at the two of them.

" _Protego!"_ She threw up a quick shield and looked for the source of the spell. It came from another masked death eater that now had them in its sights. "Pay fucking attention!" she shouted loudly at Luna, and turned to point her wand at the death eater. " _Stupefy!"_ she screamed out the spell.

" _Protego, confringo!"_ The death eater blocked her stupefy and fired back with a flame spell of its own.

" _Glacia carca, reducto!"_ She fired off another spell chain. The first spell summoned a shield of ice in front of them as the death eater's fire collided with it. Her second choice of spells was a powerful blast spell.

" _Subduco_ , _avada kedavra!"_ The death eater stole her blast spell and sent it back at them along with the killing curse.

" _Reducio, deprimo!"_ she heard Luna surprisingly fire off the spells from next to her. Her first spell shrank the two incoming spells until they were the size of tennis balls, which she then sent flying back at the death eater with a powerful wind spell. She didn't wait around to see if Luna's spell worked.

" _Luxluvia!"_ Alina added the white light magic spell she had created to the onslaught of spells Luna had sent back at the death eater.

Multiple rays of bright white light fired out from her wand towards the death eater. The death eater didn't stand a chance. The masked figure was able to defend against the two smaller spells Luna had sent back at the death eater but they did not have enough time to block the multiple beams of white magic that she had sent its way. The death eater was sent flying back against the wall, their robes burning from the energy in her spell as they collided with a thud and crack against the wall, only a few feet away from the other death eater she had just dueled.

"Where is Marik?" she shouted at Luna after they had disposed of the death eater.

"I don't know," Luna answered. Luna looked worried.

"What do you mean you don't know? You two have been joined at the freaking hip since the first of the year!" she shouted back, not attempting to hide her anger from the blonde girl. Luna already knew what Alina thought of her.

"He said he wanted to go for a walk on the grounds on his own earlier, so I was here eating by myself," Luna answered, she was shaking a little as she spoke.

"And you let him go alone? Ugh! Pay more fucking attention Luna, next time I am not going to be here to save your stupid ass!" Alina shouted at Luna as she turned to run to the door of the Great Hall.

Luna had said Marik wanted to go for a walk alone earlier. Maybe he was still out on the grounds somewhere. She made her way towards the large Great Hall doors, which by this point were no longer on their hinges. She was forced to dodge a good many spells along her way. When she made her way out of the Great Hall into the main entrance hall of the castle she could see that most of the chaos there was still present. It didn't appear at all like the death eater's numbers were dwindling at all. McGonagall was now dueling with a student against a large death eater who was deflecting each of their spells off into the walls of the castle. Flitwick was now dueling two death eaters at the same time, they both appeared to be struggling greatly though.

"Ha Ha Ha Ha!" A loud blood curdling laugh rang through the halls and stole her attention from all of the chaos. She lifted her head to see who it was that could possibly laugh at a time like this. Flying through the air, like smoke, with only her body from above the waist visible through the clouds of black was Bellatrix Lestrange. She flew through the main hall sending a number of green colored killing curses down like rain as she headed outside.

 _If Bellatrix is going outside the castle then. . ._ She quickly started looking around, her eyes darting frantically.

"There!" she shouted to no one, as her eyes caught a glimpse of what they were searching for. Slithering like a snake across the floor was a long black shadow moving quickly from the first floor stairs towards the door of the front entrance. She jumped over part of the Great Hall's door and squirmed her way through all of the people dueling until she made it to where the front door should have been.

The outside of the castle was just as chaotic as inside of the castle was. All around people were dueling out here just as the people were inside, only there was two other parties participating outside it appeared. She spotted the blue coats of the small number of aurors that had been guarding the castle dueling the death eaters. Over their heads dementors were swarming at high speeds diving on any person who fell to the ground. A shiver went down her spine as she watched the dementors glide through the chaos. Her body felt colder, as it always did whenever she saw them.

She scanned her eyes over the grounds of the castle, finding it impossible to see Marik's shadow in all of the darkness. She settled on trying to find Bellatrix, assuming she would find Marik wherever she found Bellatrix. After scanning almost the entire front grounds she spotted the witch still flying towards a cliffside by the entrance gate. She immediately took off in that direction. Sure enough as soon as Bellatrix landed on the ground she saw Marik emerge from his shadow's and send a spell towards Bellatrix.

 _You stupid fucking moron!_ Was the only thought that crossed her mind as she sprinted towards them.

" _Sorbeo, yamipulso!"_ she heard Marik cast the two spells as Bellatrix threw a red colored spell that she could not hear at Marik. Bellatrix's spell passed right through Marik's left arm which evaporated into smoke before the smoke around where his arm used to be rebuilt itself. Marik had also sent a dark burst spell right at Bellatrix who was keeping it at bay with a spell of her own.

" _Aeriacta!"_ She threw the wind explosion spell at Bellatrix when she arrived where they were dueling. The spell collided with Bellatrix and sent her flying over the edge of the cliff.

"Alina?" Marik said, as he turned to look at her. He looked shocked to see that the person he was dueling was no longer there and that she was now standing next to him. "What are you doing here? Go back inside now! It isn't safe out here!" he screamed at her, his face looking even more terrified now.

"No shit it isn't safe out here! And why do you think I am out here? I came looking for you to keep you from doing something stupid, but it seems I was a little late for that! Your welcome by the way!" she shouted back at him.

"This isn't your problem Alina! This is my problem! Leave me alone to deal with it! Go back inside! _Please!_ " Marik argued back. She could sense the anger in his voice. Even in the darkness she could see him as clear as day. His eyes looked different out here tonight, the black lines that had appeared in his irises back in his second year looked like they had grown larger. She could swear she even saw outlines of green among them.

" _You_ are _my_ problem Marik! And I am not leaving you alone!" she shouted back, making it clear she was not leaving. Marik was about to argue back but a flash of yellow light flew over their heads interrupting them from their arguement.

"Aren't you two just the cutest! But this wittle one doesn't look too happy does he? Why are you so upset wittle boy?" Bellatrix playfully asked Marik. It appeared Bellatrix had found her way back up the cliff quickly.

"You know damn well why I am upset," Marik replied coldly, his voice shaking with anger.

"Do I? Hmm. . . I don't seem to recall anything specific. Maybe this will refresh my memory! _Crucio!"_ Bellatrix cast the torture curse at Marik. Marik quickly summoned a shadow figure in front of him to block the spell.

" _Incarcerous!"_ Marik shouted the spell as Bellatrix's spell collided with his shadow figure. Ropes flew out of his wand towards Bellatrix. She saw Bellatrix smile and knew she was going to be able to block Marik's spell.

" _Stupefy, reducto!"_ Alina threw two spells towards Bellatrix right behind Marik's ropes. Bellatrix was able to easily block and dodge all three of their spells though.

"Now now Bellatrix, you don't get to have all the fun here. You are being greedy taking two of the fun ones for yourself," a voice from behind them said. She turned her head to see that another death eater had approached them from behind. This one, like Bellatrix, wasn't bothering to hide his face like many of the death eaters in the castle were. "How about you let me in on the fun huh? It's been so long since we dueled together," the newly arrived death eater asked Bellatrix.

"Of course you can join me Rhugar, but I get the boy! I want to have some _fun_ with him!" Bellatrix's face looked to be one of very bad intentions.

"Fair enough. _Reducto,"_ The death eater Bellatrix had called Rhugar sent the spell at their backs.

" _Protego totalum,"_ both she and Marik cast the shield spell around them at the same time.

"Alina get out of here now!" Marik shouted at her, she sensed some fear in his voice.

"No way Marik. We do this together," she argued back, she could see him out of the corner of her eyes grimace at the fact that she was not leaving.

"You are always so difficult you know?" Marik said in an almost playful tone of voice that she had not heard in a few months.

"I know," she replied and flashed him a smile.

The two of their eyes met for a split second, and for a split second her mind drifted back to the night she had first met Marik by the lake. A sense of warmth came over her at the memory, but quickly left as their eyes returned to the two death eaters. She moved around until her back was a few inches away from Marik's. "Go," she whispered to him.

" _Rensa maho!"_ She cast the spell chain quickly and sent a large black chain whipping at the death eater called Rhugar.

" _Cometas maximum!"_ behind her she heard Marik cast the meteor magic spell. Her chain flew at high speeds at the death eater who was forced to summon a shield to block it from wrapping itself around him. Behind her she heard a few loud crashes as the large flaming rocks she knew Marik had summoned had collided with something.

" _Crucio!"_ she heard Bellatrix shout from behind her, signaling that she had been able to block Marik's spell.

" _Expulso!"_ The death eater Rhugar in front of her cast the spell.

" _Erecto, azuflamen!"_ She erected a large piece of earth a few feet in front of Rhugar blocking his explosion spell. She countered his spell with a water blast spell of her own.

" _Protego, yamipulso!"_ Marik countered Bellatrix's spell from behind her.

" _Avada kedavra!"_ Instead of throwing up a shield Rhugar countered her spell with the killing curse. His spell and hers collided in between them and she had to focus to keep her spell flowing to keep his spell at bay. For a few seconds the two of them tried to overpower each other's spell, but neither one of their spells wavered.

" _Lumos maxima, hori rei!"_ She quickly broke off her spell and dove a few feet to the right as she countered with another spell chain. "Marik dive and switch!" she shouted to him as she rolled to her feet and turned to face Bellatrix now. " _Stupefy!"_ As soon as she was facing Bellatrix without hesitating she sent a stunner at her to give Marik time. She could feel Marik casting one of his shadow magic spells behind her.

Her first spell was one of her signature dueling tricks, one that Marik had used in his first duels and that she had taken as her own. Using the light spell to blind opponents had worked for her countless times. The second spell was another one of the white light spells she had been able to create this year. It worked a lot like Marik's shadow offensive spell. Her spell sent a numerous amount of homing beams of powerful light energy magic towards her opponent. She hoped her combo combined with Marik's would be enough to defeat Rhugar.

" _Ennervate!"_ Bellatrix easily countered her stunner. " _Crucio, acusio, avada kedavra!"_ Without hesitating Bellatrix sent an extremely high powered combo back at her.

" _Protego!_ Move Marik!" She cast the shield spell in front of her and then dove a few feet over to her left. She hoped Marik would have enough time to dodge the spells, knowing her shield would not be strong enough to block all three of Bellatrix's spells.

Bellatrix's first spell collided with her shield and vanished along with her shield. Her second spell, one that Alina had never heard before, sent a flurry of sharp needles into the ground where thankfully she was no longer standing. Bellatrix's third spell however, the killing curse, was still coming right at her. It was to close for her to even summon a shield to defend against, not that one of her shields would be strong enough to block it anyways. Just as the green spell closed in a large shadow hand emerged from the ground, grabbing the ball of green light and taking it into the ground where it came from.

"Alina," She turned her eyes upwards from her spot on the ground to see Marik standing next to her, his arm extended out to her as he looked at her. For a brief second she just stared at him before she took his hand. As he helped her up she looked to where she and Rhugar had been dueling only seconds ago. She saw that his body lay on the ground, unmoving, a good fifty feet from where he had been standing before.

"Ha Ha Ha Ha! You two are _too_ much fun! Tell me wittle boy when I kill this one will you be as heartbroken as when I killed your two muggle keepers?" Bellatrix asked Marik, she was smiling a creepy smile from ear to ear.

"So now you remember?" Marik asked Bellatrix, his voice monotone.

"Of course I remember, how could I forget the way that women screamed! It was like music to my ears! Especially after playing with the other muggle for a little while. I remember him being so _fun_ to break! Ha Ha Ha!" Bellatrix laughed again. Alina could feel Marik's anger emitting from his body at Bellatrix's words.

 _How could she be so. . . evil._ She thought to herself, unsure if evil was even the right word. Marik's magic was practically flowing out of his skin as he listened to Bellatrix. She could see wisps of black energy flowing all around him, resembling the smoke like appearance his robes gave off whenever he moved in them.

"Alina," She turned to meet Marik's eyes as he spoke her name.

"Will you help me end this?" he asked her, his voice still steady.

"Of course I will Marik," she answered almost instinctively. Marik gave her a nod and returned his gaze to Bellatrix.

"Awe I LOVE IT!" Bellatrix shouted as she continued to laugh. " _Avada kedavra!"_

" _Finite incantatum!"_ she countered.

" _Stupefy!"_ Marik also sent a stunner!

" _Protego, ennervate!"_

" _Restituo!"_

" _Crucio!"_

" _Incarcerous!"_

" _Suincedius, silencio!"_

" _Protego totalum, tempesta!"_

" _Crucio!"_

" _Expulso, expelliarmus, yamipulso!"_

"Ha Ha Ha! _Meteolojinx recanto, protego totalum, avada kedavra!"_

" _Luxluvia!_ MARIK NOW!" she shouted at him as her spell collided with Bellatrix's green spell. She had used so much magic today it took all she had left to keep Bellatrix's killing curse at bay. Next to her she saw Marik raise his hand and send his shadow magic towards Bellatrix. She broke off her spell and rolled to her right, dodging the killing curse as it collided with the ground behind her.

" _Hori rei, expelliarmus!"_ While Bellatrix was forced to counter Marik's powerful shadow offensive spell, which based off the sheer energy she could feel coming off of Marik she knew was extremely powerful, Alina threw her white light ray spell at her combined with a disarming spell at Bellatrix. Both of her spells collided with the witch sending her flying towards the edge of the cliff and her wand soaring through the air towards Alina, who caught it promptly as it neared her.

"Ha Ha Ha!" She could still hear Bellatrix laughing from her spot on the ground, even after she had been hit by Alina's spells. "Well done you two but I'm afraid that I don't need a wand to beat you both. _Cru. . ."_ Bellatrix started to cast the torturing curse wandlessly as she rose to her feet.

" _Silencio!"_ Marik slashed his wand through the air and silenced Bellatrix before she could finish the spell. Before Bellatrix could react and do anything else a shadowy hand sprouted up from her own shadow and wrapped it's hand around her neck, lifting Bellatrix's body up into the air as the rest of a tall shadow figure, at least seven feet tall rose up from Bellatrix's shadow. Bellatrix squirmed in its clutch, thrashing her legs around violently whilst she tried to escape. Her shadow stood still though, unaffected by her thrashing as its hand gripped Bellatrix's neck tighter.

"Marik. . ." she said calmly, bringing her arm up rest on his shoulder as she made her way to his side.

"She killed them. Alina she killed them!" She could hear anger, sadness, and loss in his voice as he spoke to her. She could feel the tears behind his eyes.

"I know Marik, I know," she said, tightening her grip on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Bellatrix continued to thrash around in the shadow figure's black hands.

"I have to. . . I have to. . ." Marik struggled to get out words as tears began rolling down his cheeks. This was the first time she had ever seen him cry, she felt a sadness sweep over her at the sight of him so broken. Marik had always been someone who was so strong to her. He was the guy that beat everyone in duels, and had a grin on his face always. She had never seen him as the person who cried the same tears weak people like her did.

"It's okay Marik. Everything will be okay. You don't have to do anything you don't want to," she said in another attempt to comfort him and alleviate some of his pain.

"Yes I do. . ." Marik said, his voice sounding suddenly calm and untroubled. Marik raised his hand and she watched as the shadow figure followed his lead, raising Bellatrix's flailing body higher into the air. Marik clenched his fingers into a fist and the shadow figure again followed his lead and tightened its hold around Bellatrix's neck.

For the first time she saw the crazed eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange turn into eyes full of fear. Her eyes widened and her skin started to change colors, from white to a ghostly pale. Her legs thrashed around more and her arms flailed, trying to grasp at the smoke that was choking her. The shadowy figure only continued to tighten its grip though.

Alina just stood there watching. Watching Bellatrix Lestrange, the escaped prisoner, the murderer, and her relative take her last few breaths in life before her legs stopped thrashing and her arms fell to her side. Bellatrix's body just hung in the shadowy hands limp, umoving, and dead. For a few seconds she and Marik just stood there, neither of them moving an inch.

After a few more seconds though Marik collapsed onto his knees on the ground beside her. She turned to see his head in his hands. His back was shaking violently. She could hear him crying and dry heaving, trying desperately to catch his breath.

"Marik! Here!" She quickly came to her senses and conjured a small bag for him to breath into. Marik took the bag from her and started to breath frantically into it. His eyes met hers as he continued to struggle to catch his breath in the bag. His silvery-grey eyes, gazing into hers in a state of pure panic were only intensified by the green and black highlights amongst the grey.

"Marik keep looking at me okay? I want you to try and copy my breathing. Marik! Copy my breathing. Everything will be okay," she tried to say in a calm voice.

Marik continued to stare directly into her eyes as his body continued to shake violently. She made an attempt to over exaggerate the pattern of her breathing, trying to make it easier for Marik to copy it. After a few seconds his breathing started to calm down a little, although his skin was still pale as could be.

"That's better Marik. There you go. Keep breathing just like that," she told him, moving next to him to wrap her arm around him. For a few more minutes she sat with her arm around him while Marik continued to calm down his breathing. After a few more minutes of that loud pops could be heard all around the grounds of the castle. She turned her head to see aurors popping in every direction she looked. The remaining death eaters she could see on the castle grounds popped out of sight upon the arrival of the new aurors.

"Thank you Alina," Marik finally said to her as his breathing at last seemed to calm down. He removed the bag from his mouth.

"Your welcome Marik," she wrapped him into a hug, happy that she now knew he was okay. She couldn't help but smile as she did. The usual warmth she felt whenever she hugged him was still there. She had missed this, she had missed his warmth. It had been too long since she had had this.

"This wasn't how I imagined the circumstances would be when me and you were here for the first time," Marik said to her, his eyes looking out over the cliffside they were near. He still had tears cascading down his cheeks.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused about what he was talking about.

"This is my spot. The spot I promised to bring you too when I met you by the lake. The spot I was going to bring you to after Hogsmeade," Marik turned his gaze to meet hers, flashing her a smile that she knew was forced.

"Oh. . ." she said, looking over the cliffside. Sure enough it was exactly how she remembered Marik describing it her when he had told her about it last year. From here you could see the Hogwarts Express Station along with the small entrance part of the lake where first years boarded the boats. He had not been lying about the view, it was quite a magical view, even under current circumstances.

"I didn't know that you were planning on bringing me here then," she replied as her eyes continued to scan the wonderful view.

"I'm sorry," Marik said to her. She turned to see his head slump over.

"For what?" she asked him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder again. She hated seeing him look like this.

"Not bringing you here sooner. The first time shouldn't have been like this," he told her, his words stuttering between tears.

"I forgive you Marik. Besides your first time at my spot wasn't much better," she said, giving him a smile and trying to dry his tears. "Call it even?"

"Yeah. . . We'll call it even. And Alina. . ." Marik started to say again.

"Yeah Marik?" she asked him, pulling herself closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. It felt just as warm and great as it had the last time she had rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for being such an ass to you," Marik apologized, resting his head against hers just like he had at Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop. A familiar feeling of warmth shot through her body as he did.

"I'm sorry for being an ass to you too Marik," she apologized back.

She couldn't see it, and didn't want to move her head from Marik's comfy shoulder to check, but she was sure she could feel him smiling. This time his smile felt real, and warm. They just sat there looking over the cliff for a few minutes, it seemed neither one of them wanted to move from the spots they were in.

It was a full moon tonight. The moon hung in the sky, looking the same size and silver color that it had during the night she had spent with Marik by the lake. The only difference in the view was that this time the air around them felt warmer, and instead of staring at Marik in the reflection of the lake's water she was now leaning against him. After a few more minutes of sitting next to him, in a state of bliss though she couldn't hold herself back any longer. The tugging at her heart was just too much and she had to act now, she had waited long enough.

"Marik. . ." she said, feeling sad for a moment at the loss of warmth on her face as she lifted her head up from his shoulder.

"Yeah Alina?" Marik asked her, his eyes again staring into hers as his gaze turned to meet hers. She didn't say a word back though. She didn't know how to say what she wanted to with words, only actions. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer to her. She pulled his face into hers and without wanting to waste another breath brought his lips onto, and into hers. His soft lips without hesitation opened, welcoming her in, like this was something familiar that they had done a thousand times before.

She was kissing him, and he's kissing me. Before she could even start to collect her thoughts his arms were wrapping themselves around her too, pulling their kisses, lips, and tongues deeper into each others. She bent back her head as he kissed her, starting softly at first, and then quickly picking up the intensity. His lips continued to brush against hers, soft, but with a fierce intensity. Her tongue continued to find its way into his mouth, demanding to have more. For an eternity they stayed locked in bliss. She was only getting a taste but knew she would never have enough of this. This was heaven. . . This was perfection.

"Marik. . ." she whispered, pulling her lips from his. She hated herself the moment she did, already missing the feeling of his warm lips caressing hers. Thankfully he pulled her back in, and once again they returned to the perfection.

"Yes Alina?" Marik asked in an almost moan sounding whisper to her after a few more minutes of kissing. She was so caught up in the moment she had almost forgotten she had been the first to speak. She pulled her lips away from his again, and again hated herself for doing so.

"Marik. . . I lo. . ." she began to say, but was interrupted.

"MARIK!" a voice shouted from behind them, interrupting her. They both released each other and turned to see the source of the shout. It was freaking Luna Lovegood of course. Marik stood up quickly as Luna ran over to where they had been sitting. She followed Marik's lead and got to her feet. Leave it to Luna to ruin their perfect moment. The moment she had been waiting for for years now!

"Luna?" Marik seemed to say her name as if it was a question as the blonde girl ran over to where they were. Marik's eyes flashed to hers before looking back at Luna again. For a second she thought his eyes looked pained as they met hers.

"Marik I was so worried about you!" Luna cried out as she arrived where they were standing. Before Alina could even register what was going on Luna had Marik wrapped in a hug and was kissing him. . . Just like she had been kissing him only a few seconds ago. . . It took her a few seconds of seeing it happen to actually realise that it was in fact actually happening.

She felt her heart drop deep in her chest, as she watched Luna kiss Marik. The pain was horrible, the taste in her mouth like acid. She could feel herself slipping away into the pain.

Where was the bliss that she had just been in? Now there was only hell and fire. Not knowing physically how to act and scared she might have a panic attack if she stayed here any longer she turned and started to run towards the castle.

"ALINA! ALINA!" she heard Marik shout after her. She ignored him though.

She picked up her pace ignoring all of the aurors moving bodies along her path. Ignoring the students watching her as she ran through the castle towards the dungeons' of the castle. Ignoring the few professors that tried to stop her along the way down the dungeon steps leading to their potion's lab. But she could not ignore the pain that burst out from inside her as she opened the door to the lab.

"Alina what's wrong? What happened?" Hermione asked in a panic as Alina fell onto the floor of the room, her knees too weak to continue holding her up any longer.

"I love him. . . I love him. . . I LOVE HIM!" she screamed out in pain as she fell over and curled up on the floor.

Her eyes were already hurting from the cold tears that had started falling down her cheeks. Her chest was already aching from the heavy heaving she was doing as she struggled to breath. Her heart was already burning from the fire of emotions she felt churning inside of her chest, as the world around her seemed to collapse like the rubble of the castle's walls.

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	36. Book3: Chapter 10

**Harry**

It looked like things were finally getting back to normal, well most things were at least. Hogwarts had been officially reopened, again for the second time in two years, only a few days ago after having suffered large amounts of damage during the death eater attacks. Even with the catastrophic damage large portions of the castle received during the attack it was the students of the school themselves that had been damaged more.

Seventeen students had been killed the night the death eaters attacked Hogwarts, and over fourty-eight more brutally injured. Eight Gryffindors, six Ravenclaws, and three Hufflepuffs. Almost all of the students who were killed were sixth and seventh year students who had been the main ones to take up arms against the attacking death eaters. One of the students that had been killed though was not a sixth or seventh year, but the second year Gryffindor Colin Creevy. Harry had never been close to Colin, but had been around him enough for his death to come as a hard pill to swallow. Colin died just trying to take some pictures of the battle.

A public funeral had been held at the school in honor of the fallen students a few days after the attack. Almost the entire school showed up for it. It had been Harry's first ever funeral, and hopefully his last for a very long time. A special ceremony was led by each Head of House, commemorating the lives, achievements, and stories of each of their houses' losses. McGonagall's speech had been the hardest out of all of them to watch.

With each story McGonagall told of one of the fallen Gryffindor students, it felt like McGonagall was speaking of losing her own child. The way she felt about all her students she probably felt like she had just lost eight children. Their journeys may have ended, but their stories would live on through the rest of us. That's the message Dumbledore left them all with as he had ended the procession. Each of those students that Hogwarts had lost had died fighting, so that the rest of them could continue to live, and continue fighting the fight they gave their lives for. It was a powerful, and inspiring message. One that Harry took to heart. Thanks to the effort those who had died gave, he, and none of his friends had died that night.

Thanks to Hogwarts having some of the best witches and wizards of the age as employees, the school was able to be rebuilt quickly. In just over a week the entire castle and grounds had been completely magically rebuilt, with only a few scars here and there remaining on the castle walls. Students had been allowed to return during the first week of march, but the start of classes were postponed until after the funeral, which meant they would be officially starting back tomorrow.

He had been back at the castle for only a few days now. The first day back for him had been difficult. A small part of him felt like the attack was his fault, just as he always did whenever death eaters were involved in anything. Remus though, the great uncle he always was, had most likely foreseen that Harry would think this way following the attack and had sent Harry a letter reiterating the words he had spoken to Harry following the death of Marik's parents. Since then things had been a little easier for Harry, and he had done his best to be there for his friends.

Most of the students had returned to the castle and were doing their best to return to their daily lives, however he could still clearly see a majority of them were struggling to do so. There seemed to be an eerie silence still lingering over the students, one that would take some time to get used to.

He had done his best since he got back to Hogwarts to keep on moving forward and help his friends move forward with him. While he certainly had not been untouched by the attack on the school, he had not been affected as much as many of the other students had. He was beyond thankful for that too, no matter how selfish it was.

That night, during the attack after he had left Alina, he had made a straight path for where he knew Hermione was supposed to be. Thankfully the attacks had been more concentrated in the more populated areas of the castle, and not the area Hermione was in. Flitwick had left Hermione in his office while he went to go assist the other professors at the front of the castle. Of course Hermione had been too stubborn to sit there and wait though.

Harry found her dueling two death eaters, who had been attacking a group of first years, at the same time outside Flitwick's office. He had joined and her and together they defeated the death eaters, although at the rate Hermione had been going he doubted that Hermione actually needed his help to defeat them. After that he kept his promise to Alina, and slowly he and Hermione headed down towards the potions lab. They made it a point to take down as many death eaters as they could along the way.

He lost count of how many death eaters he and Hermione had dueled that night, whatever the number was it was too many for him. The Prophet reported the next day that sixteen death eaters had been killed, and fourteen others had been arrested. Most of them though were able to escape. No on still knew how the death eaters were able to enter the castle. Based on the positions of their attacks though speculation was that they simply just were able to walk through the front door. In the last issue of the Prophet minister Fudge said he was _personally_ seeing to investigating every possibility, which was not really that reassuring to hear.

When he and Hermione arrived at the potions lab it had taken all the strength the two of them had left in them to stay put. It had been impossible to sit still, when all you could do was worry about your friends being out there in the chaos. Thankfully though Alina had shown up shortly after they arrived.

At first when Alina had entered their potions lab part of his world felt like it was about to crash down. Alina had collapsed to the floor screaming horrifying screams through an endless number of tears about loving _him._ He and Hermione had immediately taken that as meaning Marik had been killed and Alina had seen it. Thankfully though Marik had not been killed.

Something had happened between Marik and Alina that night. Alina had been too distraught to get out an actual full sentence when she arrived in the potions lab, so he never quite figured out what happened from her perspective. He assumed Alina had eventually told Hermione, but he never pushed too much to ask her.

Shortly after Alina arrived in their potions lab Marik had shown up at the door. Throughout the almost three years Harry had known Marik he had never seen his friend quite as shaken up as he looked that night, then again in the lifetime he had known Alina he had never seen her look as broken as she did then either. Marik had come looking for Alina, but Alina would not allow him to see her. Since Alina was still unable to get out a full sentence between her gasps for air and painful tears, Hermione had ended up having to come to her defence. She had sent Marik out of the room, leaving Marik looking more broken than he had even looked when he had shown up to their room.

Knowing that all of his friends were safe Harry had followed Marik out of the room. He had promised Remus and himself that he would be there for his friends, and from the way Marik looked that night it was clear that he didn't need to be alone. He had forced Marik to walk with him up to the astronomy tower. There the two of them had just stood in silence for awhile, staring over the railing into the night's sky. After a while of nothing but silence though Marik lost it.

His friend collapsed on the ground in tears, seemingly overwhelmed by all the weight that had been pressing down on his shoulders. Marik cried tears for the loss of his parents for the first time that Harry had seen, and he cried tears for many more things. The two of them spent almost the entire night together outside on the tower's balcony, Marik cried almost the entire time. He had tried to do his best to make sure Marik knew he was there for him, and was hopeful that it helped.

After Marik stopped crying Harry learned a lot of things about his friend, and what had happened that night. Harry learned that Luna had been there on the day when Marik found at his parents had died, and Luna had stayed by his side over the entire break from that point on. He had never known why or how Marik had become close to Luna, but it made sense now. Marik had literally been left alone in the world he felt like. No parents to go home to, Alina had been ignoring him, and outside of Harry and Hermione the only person Marik felt he had left was Luna.

Harry was thankful Luna had been around when she had been. Without her who knows what dark destinations Marik's mind would have traveled to over the break when he was left alone with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. Harry also learned that Marik had also developed some feelings for Luna over the time the two of them had become closer. Harry wasn't entirely sure if it had been mainly a result of Luna being the one person Marik felt like he could talk to because she had been there when he found out his parents died, or if it was something else.

Whatever the reason was, Harry learned that the night they had been called to the Great Hall to learn the _patronus_ spell Marik had asked Luna to be his girlfriend. The two of them had been exchanging hugs as Luna had said _yes_ when Alina had shown up. While none of them had known the two of them were dating they all certainly knew now, and Alina had found out the hard way during the night of the attack.

Through the little bits of information Hermione did give him, he had learned that after he had left her, Alina had gone to the Great Hall to look for Marik. There in the Great Hall she ended up saving Luna, of all people, from a death eater. From there Alina somehow ended up finding Marik chasing after Bellatrix.

Alina had shown up and started to help Marik duel Bellatrix when another death eater had shown up. Together though, both her and Marik defeated the second death eater and eventually defeated Bellatrix. Hermione would not tell him anything more than that from Alina's perspective, so all he had to go on from there was what Marik told him happened during their time on the astronomy tower.

Marik had killed Bellatrix Lestrange. After he had killed her Marik had a panic attack and to simply put it, broke down in front of Alina, much like he had in front of Harry up on the astronomy tower. Alina had been there though for him and helped him calm down thankfully. Apparently from the way Marik described things the two of them had talked for awhile and shared a special moment together. Towards the end of things Marik told him that Alina had kissed him, and that Marik had been so caught up in his emotions, and had been wanting to kiss Alina for so long that he had kissed her back.

In a time where his friend had been crying for hours that part of the story had been the only time of the night when Marik smiled. Though the smile was only brief as his friend continued on with his story. From there he learned that Luna had been searching for Marik as soon as the aurors arrived at the school. When she found Marik she had kissed him in front of Alina, and that's when Alina had run away from him,and off to their potions lab.

How much Marik liked Luna, Harry had no idea. Most of him felt like Luna was sort of a krutch Marik had begun to lean on since his parents died, but the other half of him could see that Marik really did care for the girl now. All he knew was that Marik had admitted that he had for moments forgotten about Luna when Alina had kissed him, and that it wasn't until he had seen her running towards him that he was brought back down to reality.

Whatever Marik felt and whatever Alina felt, along with whatever else happened between them ended that night. The next day Alina refused to discuss it further with Marik, and Marik refused to discuss it further with he or Hermione. Alina had decided to take the high road, or at least that's what she called it, following the funeral. She had formally approached Marik on her own, told him that he was still her friend, and that he was to return to hanging out with them all in their potions lab along with the rest of his normal routine.

Since then Marik had followed Alina's orders and returned to hanging out with them all just like normal times. The first two days had been awkward, he and Hermione could practically sense the tension between the two of them, but things had started to get a little better since then. Marik was still dating Luna, and Alina at least pretended that it no longer bothered her. Whether it actually did or not he did not know and Alina would not say. Regardless, the four of them were all hanging out again, so things seemed to be returning to normal for them, again, at least for the most part.

"How much longer until they all get here, I can't wait any longer!" Alina shouted, as they all sat on the lawn in front of the castle waiting.

"Harry should be the one that can't wait, not you," Marik said, continuing to toss the ball he had up into the air.

"Sorry that I can't wait to see my friend do his first full _animagus_ transformation! Some of us are proud!" Alina argued back. See, things were back to normal.

"You know I'm proud too. So Harry any idea where you're dad and Sirius plan on taking you?" Marik asked him.

"No idea, they said they just had a few special spots they wanted to show me. I think it is just spots they used to go when they were at Hogwarts," he answered, truthfully not too sure himself.

"This just makes me so jealous!" Hermione said, pouting beside him in the grass. He gave her a wink which seemed to make her smile.

"Join the club," Marik said, also pouting from his spot. Both of them never made any attempt to hide their jealousy at not being an _animagus_.

"Harry you will have to take me to these spots one day too," Alina told him.

"Oh you know Sirius and my dad will want to do the same for you too Alina," he said to her.

"I know I know but still! We will have to find a spot somewhere on our own too though," Alina said, and he thought he heard Marik mumble something at the word spot.

"We will, I promise. I think that's them!" he replied to Alina, and sat up in the grass as he saw a group walking towards them from the castle.

Their group sat up as the people they had been waiting for finally arrived. Four of the people in the group he recognized, the fifth one he did not. Both his parents along with Sirius had flooed to the castle today to come watch him and help him complete the final stage of his _animagus_ transformation. The other two members of the group were McGonagall, who was there to observe and take notes for her article, as well as her coauthor on the paper they were writing.

"Hey guys!" Harry said in excitement, with their arrival the feelings of what was actually about to happen was setting in and some butterflies began fluttering around in his stomach.

"Harry come give your old man a hug! I can't believe this day is happening already!" his father said, looking happier than Harry had seen him in a long time.

"Oh so you knew this day would be happening eventually?" Hermione asked as she received a hug from his mother.

 _When did those two get on a hugging basis._ He wondered to himself as she watched Hermione get a big hug from his mother.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I did. Even when Harry was a baby he used to transfigure the mobile over his bed with accidental magic. Ever since then we knew he would be an _animagus_ like his dad one day," his father answered Hermione again.

"That and the fact that he came out the womb with a tail," Sirius joked, earning a groan from the group.

"Harry I would like you to meet my colleague and coauthor of the paper I told you we are writing. Harry this is Helga Nissinger, Helga this is Harry Potter," McGonagall introduced him to the witch he did not recognize.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said to her as he shook her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for allowing us to take notes on you today, you are our first mountain lion," Miss. Nissinger said in excitement, she looked much more natural when she smiled than McGonagall did.

"Helga this is the Miss Black I was also telling you about, she is the one who recently just completed the second layer of her ring," McGonagall told her colleague. Harry noted Sirius beaming at the mention of his daughter and her achievements.

"Ah the Jaguar! I cannot wait to see the final transformation. McGonagall showed me the memory of your second layer, it was exquisite!" Helga told Alina, as she shook her hand.

"Uhh thank you," Alina responded, looking caught off guard.

"Hey I want to see that memory!" Sirius proclaimed.

"SOOO HARRY, why don't you get this show on the road," Alina shouted out. He laughed, able to clearly see that Alina had taken all she could from her dad on the topic of her _animagus_.

"Yeah, I'm ready if everyone else is," he said, barely able to contain his excitement.

"We are ready whenever you are Harry. Lead the way," his father said, still smiling. Harry led their now much larger group towards the forest. He and Marik had found a good open patch of trees in forest yesterday that he would be using to perform the last part of his ritual.

"Think this spot will be good enough for everyone to see?" he asked the group as they arrived.

"It is perfect," Sirius answered him, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Me and Sirius are going to shift into our forms now Harry so that we can be ready to go as soon as your form is complete. So I will go ahead and tell you congratulations now. I'm so proud of you son," his dad told him, giving him a hug and a kiss on his forehead.

"And from what I know about your father I'm sure you will smell quite. . . well I will go ahead and get my hug and kiss in now too," his mother said to him with a warm smile, giving him a proud hug and kiss on his cheek.

"Congratulations Harry," As soon as his mother released him from her hug he was immediately engulfed in another. He could tell from the amount of hair in his face and the smell of books that it was Hermione.

"Thanks Hermione," he told her as he hugged her.

"Congrats again man," Marik added.

"Yeah Harry, congratulations. You know we are all proud," Alina said and Hermione released him from her hug.

"And jealous," Marik joked.

"Mainly jealous," Hermione added playfully.

"Thanks guys," he laughed. "Now let's get started." Sirius and his father quickly transformed into their animagus forms and playfully ran to a spot a little ways away from the group where they could still see. Everyone else backed away a little.

"Okay, Marik you are in charge of lights again, Hermione you got the temperature. Alina. . ." he started to say.

"Take notes and get ready to stun the mess out of you if you screw up. You are _not_ going to mess up Harry," Alina told him, and flashed him a warm smile.

"Right. Okay go," he announced to the group and dropped to all fours. As he closed his eyes he felt the little light that had been in the part of the forest around him vanish into darkness. He could feel his hairs on the back of his neck standing up as the air around him quickly got colder. Using his _occlumency_ he began to clear his mind and organizing his thoughts. As he removed any unneeded thoughts from his mind he readied himself and focused all his energy on his magic.

With one last breath he started to push his magic outwards through his pores. The first two layers of the ritual came quickly, having practiced them more times than he cared to count. His hands and feet quickly shifted into their mountain lion forms, sprouting their normal tawny-grey fur and claws. As the layers finished forming he moved onto the next layer with as much pace as he could, not wanting to waste any more magic than was needed.

As the next layers formed he could feel the familiar feeling of his tail sprouting along with the shifting off his ribs as his torso filled into its new shape. The animal instincts inside him were already reeling even now. Pausing for a second he again used his _occlumency_ to calm himself, clear his thoughts, and focus his mind. With another breath he began pushing his magic out even harder.

He could feel the final layer of his ritual as it began to form under him. He concentrated further on what the shape of the layer would look like, and how is magic would form it. Slowly he weaved the needed designs and lines into the ring around him. As he neared the end of it he could feel his face beginning to change. It took all the concentration he had left in him to maintain focus.

The pain that started in his skull was unbelievable as his skull shifted its shape. It literally felt like the bones in his skull were stabbing through the back of his eyes and it was difficult not to scream. His teeth felt like they were cracking as they moved around in his mouth and formed themselves into the mouth of a mountain lion. And his eyes felt like they were being stabbed through their backs as they expanded and contracted. The last thing that went through his mind as he finished the ritual was the pain, the pain inside his head as the last few changes were made. Then all the pain vanished, as if it had never been there before, and the world quieted around him.

He opened his eyes to see a much different world. All around him were people watching him. His instincts kicked in and he bolted away from the group, part of him not fully understanding why they were there, even though part of him knew why. At first running was hard, he found himself tripping constantly, not used to the speed. It was hard learning to move four legs at the same time instead of two.

He felt lower to the ground then he usually did. From here he felt as if he could see an entirely different world. He could move on the ground quicker and could see every branch, stump, or tree in his way. Not really knowing where his legs were carrying him but following them on instinct he continued to run. After he ran for what felt like an hour he felt like he was slowly getting used to his new body. He had not tripped in a while and was now getting less jarred from the speed.

He came to a stop and reared his head with a snarl as he heard a twig snap behind him. As he turned he felt his claws creeping out of their sockets, ready to pounce at whatever had tried to sneak up on him. He saw a few feet in front of him, a little out his striking range, was a large black dog and a stag.

 _An odd combination._ He thought to himself as the hairs on his neck stood up. He stared at the two creatures watching him, ready to strike at any sudden movement. He met the eyes of the large stag, trying to understand why it had come so close.

 _He recognized those eyes. . . but from where. . ._ He turned his gaze from the stag to the black dog. _He recognized those eyes too. . ._ He couldn't fully understand how but somehow he knew this dog and stag. _How would he, a mountain lion, know these two creatures._

"Dad. . . Sirius. . ." a voice inside himself whispered. The large stag took a step closer to him and he found himself giving out a warning roar.

 _No that's not right. . ._ He found himself thinking. The stag took another step forward towards him. This time he relaxed a little, although he kept his attention fixed, still ready to run or pounce at any given moment.

As the stag crept slowly closer, the large black dog closely followed behind. As they got within fifty feet of him he could smell them. He recognized their smells, he had smelled them before. Their smells reminded him of something. . . of family. But he still couldn't quite place what that meant.

He allowed them to get closer, not feeling like they were posing any threat to him. The stag stopped when he arrived just a few feet in front of him. The dog sat down next to the stag, he could see its tail wagging behind him as the dog gave him a bark that sounded almost friendly. As they stood there unmoving he slowly walked around them, taking in their scents and trying to decipher the situation. After he made a few successful circles around them he determined they were not a threat to him.

"Dad. . . Sirius. . ." he heard the voice inside his head whisper again.

 _Dad. . . Sirius. . ._ He thought to himself again at what the words could mean. _That's right, he knew these people. They had been with him earlier, when he was. . . different. They were his family._ The images of the two people came to his mind at last. He understood now that these two creatures were his family. The stag was his father and the dog was his uncle, somehow he was related to them. The stag took a step closer to him and gently brushed one of its horns against his side. He felt warmth at the touch, instead of fear.

The dog followed the stag's lead and walked right up to him and licked him in the face. He growled at the large dog. Even if he knew this dog that was too far. That dog barked at him again as if it was laughing. He turned his head to see the large stag seemed to be laughing too. After they all stood there for a few more minutes taking everything and each other in, the stag ran off. The large dog quickly followed. Acting on instincts he followed them.

Together they led him through all different parts of the forest. Over streams, through caves, and past an endless number of trees. He found himself running on familiar grounds as they left the darkness and found an open field of sunlight. The ran on the soft grass along the edge of the forest. To his right he could see a large castle.

"Hogwarts," the voice inside his head told him. He continued to follow them along the edge of the forest until they led him to the bottom of a large willow tree. Carefully avoiding it as it hammered branches down towards him from above he followed them into a small cave underneath its roots. The cave continued for miles before at last it sloped upwards. At the end of the cave it led into a dark lit room. He saw the stag and dog run up the stairs in the room to the floor above him. He followed their lead.

As he made his way up the stairs he saw that the stag and dog were no longer there. Instead two men, he knew he recognized, were standing in their place. He crept closer slowly. They had the same smells as the creatures had.

 _They are the stag and dog. . . Father. . . and Sirius. . ._ More thoughts came to his mind as he crept further into the room. It slowly began to make more sense now. At the sight of them in human forms now he knew somehow deep within him he should change too. He felt a tug in the back of his mind and allowed it to pull. In the blink of an eye he felt his body expand and contract until all of the sudden he was on his back staring up at the ceiling of a dusty ceiling.

"Ughhh," he groaned as he tried to sit up, it felt like his body had been hit by a train.

"Let me help," he turned his head to see his father standing over him, his hand outstretched to help him up. He took his father's hand and stood up, feeling dizzy as he did.

"Here Harry come sit down, the first time feels like hell afterwards," Sirius said with a smile as he motioned for him to come sit in the chair next to him.

"Where am I?" he asked as he made his way to where Sirius was.

"Marauder's sanctuary. The shrieking shack," Sirius answered him with a wink.

"The shrieking shack? This place is supposed to be haunted though," Harry said, not fulling believing Sirius about his current location.

"And I am the famous one who haunts it," Harry turned to see Remus walking through the door.

"Ahh Moony you made it!" his father shouted, going to the door to give his friend a hug.

"Are you kidding, I wouldn't miss this for anything. How did he do?" Remus asked, grabbing a seat next to them. His father got up and went looking for something in one of the broken shelves. He surprisingly came back with a bottle half filled of firewhiskey, which he took a swig out of and handed to Sirius.

"He did perfect. He picked up running much quicker than James did," Sirius said through gritted teeth as he took a swig from the bottle and handed it over to Remus.

"You should have seen the way he bolted when he finished shifting," his father said laughing at the memory.

"How long did it take before he calmed down to you two?" Remus asked, taking a swig out of the bottle and handing it back to his father.

"Only about an hour," Sirius answered.

"Yeah, then we took him through the trails, he kept up pretty nice for his first time. Here Harry," his father said to him, extending out the bottle of firewhiskey towards him.

"Me? Seriously?" he asked his father not sure if this was a joke.

"Yes seriously! It is a tradition, and you earned it. Just don't tell your mother," his father said with a wink. Harry took the bottle from him slowly, ready for them to pull a prank on him at any second. He took a swig from it and immediately almost gagged at the taste. The three marauders laughed at his reaction to it.

"That's about the same reaction we all had the first time too," Sirius said laughing as he took the bottle back from him.

"Besides the taste in your mouth now Harry how do you feel?" his father asked him.

"I have a headache and I feel sore, but other than that I feel good. Although I am a little confused about why we ended up here instead of back with the group," he answered, looking around the shack as he spoke.

"This was our favorite spot back when we were at Hogwarts. Though, we used to have it cleaned up a lot more back then," Sirius answered, his eyes also looking around the shack.

"We thought we would continue the tradition with you and bring you here, plus we wanted to see it one last time. We heard someone bought this land and planned on tearing it down soon," his father added, looking sad.

"What did you mean when you said you were the one that haunts this place Remus?" he asked his uncle curiously. His father handed him the bottle again. He took another swig off the foul alcohol, this time it went down a little easier. He could feel the pain in his head getting a little better.

"We all used to come here every full moon. The screams people thought were ghosts was just me howling as I transformed. We never had the heart to tell anyone," Remus said laughing.

"Oh. . . well that explains that then," he said joining in on the laughter.

"It will be sad when this place goes, we had a lot of good times here," Remus added.

"Remember that time James got his antlers stuck in Lily's dress. She almost had him stuffed and mounted when he ripped it trying to free himself," Sirius said through laughter. Remus almost did a spit take at the story.

"Ugh don't remind me. She almost killed you too when she found out that you saw her underwear," his father said, laughing back.

"Don't remind me! She threatened to hex me every time I looked at her for the next month!" Sirius said, taking another swig from the bottle.

"That was almost as good as when you brought that girl you were dating here, what was her name?" his father asked Sirius.

"It was Lionna Bell remember? God the legs on that girl!" Sirius said, leaning back in his chair as he spoke.

"I will never forget the face she made when Remus walked in here naked, having just transformed back," his father barely got out through laughter.

"I swear she screamed louder than I ever did, maybe she was the real ghost that haunted this place," Remus laughed too.

"We really did have some good times here," Sirius said, as the marauders quieted down. Each of them seemingly lost in memories.

"Speaking of our no good deeds, we have heard that you have been putting the cloak to good use," his father said, giving him a large grin.

"What? How? Who?" he started to ask, wondering how they knew and feeling like he was about to get in trouble.

"Hahaha the poor boy," Sirius laughed.

"Harry no matter how clever and sneaky you may be you will find it tough to do something at Hogwarts that hasn't already been seen by Dumbledore," His father answered him.

"He knew?" he asked, amazed that Dumbledore had known the entire time that he had a cloak.

"Of course he knew. I told him I gave you the cloak. He was always asking me when I was going to give it to you after all," his father said, still smiling from ear to ear.

"Why didn't he say anything then?" Harry asked, still amazed.

"Because Dumbledore has bigger fish to fry than some harmless sneaking about. Plus Dumbledore was no saint either during his time at Hogwarts," Remus answered. Harry couldn't imagine Dumbledore not being anything but saint like.

"Who do you think Peeve's learned most of his gags from?" Sirius added.

"Don't worry Harry we are happy to hear that you are putting it to good use," his father told him.

"Feels a little bit like our legacy is living on," Sirius added with a smile.

"Which is another reason we wanted to bring you here," Remus added.

"Ah right," his father reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of folded parchment. "The three of us have decided that you have earned this Harry. We were planning on giving it to you on Christmas but with your mom there we figured we would celebrate your final transformation with it," his father handed him the parchment. He looked it over in his hands, but could see nothing but blank pages.

"What is it?" he asked them confused.

"Touch your wand to the paper and say _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,"_ Sirius told him. He nodded his head and pulled out his wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said the words Sirius had told him and immediately ink begin to appear on the paper, drawing lines all by itself. As he looked more closely he could see that it was a map of the castle and the grounds. He could see student's names floating around the castle, footsteps appearing under them as they walked. He recognized his mother's name in McGonagall's office, where it appeared she was with his professor and her colleague.

He could see Hermione's name in the library, it appeared in the potion's section, right up against a bookshelf. He scanned the rest of the map in awe. He could see Alina and Marik's names as they were together down in their potions lab, probably arguing. It was amazing.

"This is. . ." he started to say.

"Amazing. We know," Sirius said.

"This piece of art took us three almost three years to complete. It was our most prized possession during our time at Hogwarts. With this we never got caught," Remus added.

"And now we want you to have it," his father said to him, giving him another warm smile.

"Really? I don't know what to say," he lept up and gave them all a hug.

"Just make sure you use it well," Sirius said, after he got his hug.

"And when you are finished just say _mischief managed,"_ Remus added.

"I will use it well, I promise," he said to the marauders.

"Looks like our legacy is safe then," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Well let's get back to the castle then, I promised your mother we wouldn't be gone too long," his father said, and they all made their way back down to the cave of the shack.

"Mischief managed," he said, pointing his wand at the map before he followed, making sure to check where Hermione's name was before her dot disappeared. He would have to run to the library as soon as he got to the castle so that he could tell her all about his adventure.

* * *

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	37. Book3: Chapter 11

**Hermione**

It was hard to believe that the her third year at Hogwarts was already getting close to its end. It felt like only yesterday when she had been staying at her family's condo in France over the summer. Only yesterday since she had been worrying about how bad she was going to do in her third year, and only yesterday since Alina had been talking about how excited she was for all of the magic the fated four would accomplish. Hermione couldn't help but laugh a little at thinking of the name Alina had come up with for their group, she had not thought about it since the summer time.

It was crazy to think that two more weeks was all that was left of her third year. It seemed like the last few months of the year had flown by even quicker than the rest of the year had. All of the school's students had already entered frenzy mode, adding the last few details to their end of year projects and the last few lines to the essays they had waited to long on to start. She and her friends were no different.

The fated four, as Alina would call them, had all for the most part, taken up permanent residence inside their little potions lab over the last few days. The empty vials and flasks had quickly all become full, and the large desk covered with papers as the four of them worked on finishing everything they had left for the year. They had all been working around the clock nonstop. She had been so worried that she would not have enough time to finish her work that she, Hermione Granger, even managed to get a detention for trying to stay in their potions lab past curfew one night to finish her history of magic project. In the end though somehow in all of the chaos she managed to get all of her work done early.

She was proud of the work she had done this year. Between the attack on the school, the drama with her friends, and the chaos of third year she had expected her progress and projects at the end of the year to not be some of her best work. However it ended up being quite the opposite. In her most difficult year at Hogwarts so far she had managed to to create a new type of magic, create multiple spells within that magic, as well as come up with end of year projects for every one of her classes that all honestly had the chance for an ' _M'_ mark.

She was proud of all of her friends' work too. Harry had managed to get published on the front page in the famous _Transfiguration Weekly_ two different times this year. The first issue had been proclaiming him as the third youngest known wizard to complete a full body _animagus_ transformation in the last hundred years. The second article, which made her very jealous, proclaimed Harry to be the next great face in the subject, and showed off some of the wing transfiguration magic he was working on. Even though he had only managed to produce one wing so far, Harry had already began to delve further into transfiguration magic that most professionals only dreamed of getting to.

Alina's progress this year had been just as good as hers and Harry's progress frankly too. Although both Alina and Marik could have probably done even better if they had not spent all the time they had fighting amongst each other. Thankfully those days were over now, for the most part. Alina had made amazing progress on her white light magic. In just one year alone she had managed to create over four different spells for her signature magic, each one more impressive than the next. If that wasn't impressive enough Alina was also moving along with her _animagus_ transformation almost as quickly as Harry had. She already managed to add the third layer to her ritual and at the rate she was going would be on nearly the same pace as Harry had been to complete her full transformation.

Marik, for as rough of a year as he had, somehow also managed to end up having quite a good year with his magic progress and projects. The amount of rune work that Marik had done this year was honestly mental. Since over the summer Marik had committed to the subject and you could certainly see it in his work. He had managed by this point in the year to draw over fifty five different advanced runes, any of which would be worthy end of year projects. Although it was kind of funny, Marik's proudest achievement this year was that he actually managed to create a herbology end of year project that had a chance for a good ranking.

Altogether even against all odds they all had again done a great job this year. They had been through hell at some points in the year, but managed to still rise back up to the top, and even ascend higher. They had worked their asses off this year, and deserved a little break, which was exactly why she was sitting on the front lawn near Hagrid's hut at the minute waiting on her friends to show up.

Today was the day of the third annual Hogwarts dueling tournament. As it always seemed to be, the tournament had been postponed again this year, this time due to the attack on the castle. Dumbledore pushed the tournament back all the way towards the end of year, which was unfortunate for anyone who still had work to do. However, it did provide students with more time than normal to prepare and practice, which she was sure would result in better duels overall. While everyone else in the castle was stressing out about winning the tournament today, this year she was not.

Once you entered your third year at Hogwarts the tournament became optional. She had debated back and forth everyday since Dumbledore announced the new tournament's date whether she wanted to participate or not. In the end when Harry told her that he was not participating she decided that she would not either.

Even though the wildly competitive side of her wanted nothing more than another shot at beating Marik, in the amount of her time the tournament would take up over the summer if she won again she knew that she could do so much more research and studying with that time. Plus you had to give credit where credit was due, Marik was a better dueler than she was, he had proven that point quite well in their last duel. She would be content with cheering him and Alina on over the summer from the sidelines.

So instead of sitting in the stands watching the tournament in the Great Hall as her and her friends usually did, they would instead be doing something a little different this year. And speaking of her friends, here they were now.

"Hey Hermione," Harry said as he made his way over to where she was waiting, giving her his normal warm smile and warmer hug.

"Hey Harry," She returned his smile as they released from their hug.

"So how much longer until we get to find out what your secret surprise is?" Alina asked her, looking like she was dying from not knowing.

"Soon! Don't get too anxious though, I don't think you all will be as excited as I was," she told her friends, hoping that they would actually be excited as she was.

"Anything will be better than watching the first year dueling tournament, Kingsley told me this first year class was one of the worst classes he has taught in a long time. You didn't hear that from me though," Marik said.

"Luna wasn't mad that you were missing her duels?" she asked her friend, noticing Alina's usual grimace at the mention of the blonde's name.

"Nah, she understood. Friends come first," Marik answered her.

"Well then before we get going I guess some backstory is needed," she started to say.

"Here we go," Alina started to say.

"We might want to sit down for this," Harry added. She just rolled her eyes at her friends.

"ANYWAYS! So as you all know I submitted my essay on the third batch of _animareavelo potion_ that I brewed earlier this year. If you remember the essay was focused on the use of enchanted unicorn hair along with unicorn blood mixed with dried dragon's blood as substitute ingredients. Well that paper won the Ameatuer Brewer's Award," she announced to her group of friends.

"What? Congratulations Hermione!" Harry congratulated her and gave her another hug.

"Thats awesome 'Mione," Marik added.

"So what does that mean?" Alina asked her after they all had given her a congratulatory hug.

"Well for one, my essay will be published in a future article of _The_ _Brewers Batch,_ but along with that I was given a reward sum of money," she announced.

"And you decided to buy as all presents!" Alina shouted.

"Kind of, but no," she answered with a smile. "So as you know I still have not spent all of my ministry grant money either. So with this reward money along with the grant money, I came up with an idea for something good to use the money for. Thanks to the help of Hagrid and Dumbledore I was actually able to put the money towards a good use," she said, sounding proud of herself.

"Well what did you buy?" Harry asked her, looking curious.

"Follow me!" she waved them over to where she was walking. She led them past Hagrid's hut to a small clearing on the edge of the forest.

"Oi there errybody," Hagrid shouted upon their arrival.

"Hey Hagrid," they all said in unison.

"Is everything ready?" she asked her care of magical creatures professor.

"Yup, jus' finish'd tha last few fences dis mornin'," Hagrid answered her.

"Okay everyone this way," She led them towards the edge of the nearby fence.

"You bought a fence?" Marik asked her, as they all leaned over the fence.

"Yes, I did actually. And I helped buy what is inside the fence," she answered him.

Right on cue two baby unicorns made their way from behind some of the thick trees inside of the pen towards them.

"You bought unicorns?" Alina asked, sounding excited.

"I sure did. Meet Varda and. . . Goonie jr. . ." she announced the names of the two unicorns, watching the large grin appear on Marik's face at the name of the second unicorn.

"No way, you named him Gonnie jr?" Marik asked her, his grin only growing.

"I didn't want to at first, but it was the only name that felt right," she answered him, allowing herself to smile at the name, even if it was a silly name. "Dumbledore used his influence within the ministry to make the purchase. He thought the idea was a good one and actually purchased the second unicorn himself. When I told Hagrid my plan he started building them the pen."

"Hogwart's will 'ave its very own unicorn stables. It will give me at least six more lessons I can teach each year now too. It was a great idea from 'Ermione," Hagrid added, causing her to smile at his compliment.

"This was a perfect idea Hermione," Harry added and gave her another hug.

"Goonie would love it," Marik said.

"I thought so to," she replied back with a warm smile.

"So how long until I get to ride one?" Alina asked, breaking the silence as they all were watching the two unicorns inside the pen.

"One does not simply ride Goonie," Harry answered, causing Marik to laugh.

"Lame!" Alina said sarcastically.

"Don't call Goonie Jr. lame!" Marik joked.

"You're lame!" Alina argued back.

"Welllll I'mma let you all 'njoy it. I bes be gettin up to the castle," Hagrid said, leaving them alone by the pen.

"This really was a great idea Hermione. You said you wanted to do something and you did," Harry said to her, giving her another warm smile.

"Thanks Harry," she said to her friend.

"I feel like we need to cut a ribbon or pop a bottle of champagne to officially commemorate this," Alina said, as the all started to watch the unicorns again.

"Yeah, I agree," Marik added.

"On it," Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his shrunken bag. After digging through it for a while he pulled out a bottle of Weasley Wizard Wheezes Wonderful White, patent pending.

"One, why do you have this? Two, why are the twins selling wine? Three, no way this is safe to drink," Alina said as Harry transfigured some nearby sticks into cups.

"One, it is safe to drink. Two, it was a thank you gift for my investments. Third, I tested it myself to make sure it wasn't poisoned," Harry said with a laugh at the last part. Harry poured each of them a little glass.

"Anyone have any good cheers?" she asked them before taking a sip.

"Cheers to Hermione, for honoring Goonie and putting Fudge's dirty money to a good cause," Harry announced and they all clanged glasses.

"To Hermione!" everyone except her shouted. She just smiled.

"And cheers to Goonie! May Jr. here live a magical life and carry forward the great legacy," Marik added.

"To Goonie!" they all shouted again, and they all laughed. After they all finished toasting she took a sip of her glass.

"Still can't believe it is almost the end again," Harry said, shaking his head in a look of disbelief.

"Yeah, time flies when you are working your ass off," Alina added.

"I second that," she replied, laughing a little at Alina's words.

"If no one else has any more unicorns to show off or anything else to announce I actually have some pretty good news," Marik said, causing them all to look at him curiously.

"You're being kicked out because Dumbledore found out you were cheating all along?" Harry joked.

"Ooh ooh ooh that rumor of you joining the Hogwarts choir was true?" Alina added sarcastically too.

"Your real name was actually Malik all along and you are actually Italian?" she joked, earning weird stares from everyone.

"Wow Hermione, you really went deep on that one. Is there something personal you need to talk about?" Marik asked her.

"Shut up just tell us!" she shouted at him.

"No no no please, go ahead Hermione," Marik said to her again. She just glared at him.

"Anywasss, so I don't know how much you all know about this, but as a student of Hogwarts and a citizen of Britain under the age of sixteen I am required to have a legal guardian. Well as you all know I lost my guardians. So technically as soon as this school year ends I would have to spend the summer at an orphanage until the start of the next school year," Marik started to explain, the mood died down a little. Hermione's champagne lost its sweetness.

"Marik. . ." Alina started to say, her voice sounding sad.

"Let me finish. I asked Dumbledore if there was someway I could stay at Hogwarts over the summer or even work a part time job at the castle so that I didn't have to go to an orphanage, but there are apparently a bunch of laws against that sort of thing so he said no."

"Could you just stay with my family then over the summer? Is that legal? I know my parents would both say yes for sure!" Harry interrupted.

"Thanks for the offer but actually I have a place to stay now," Marik answered, a surprising smile given the situation appearing across his face.

"Where?" she asked.

"Well, I said no a bunch at first, but in the end he told me I did not have a choice. Kingsley approached me two weeks ago with his wife and practically told me there was no way in hell they were letting me stay at an orphanage over the summer. So Kingsley and his wife asked if they could be my foster parents. And I said yes," Marik explained, and a large smile that she had not seen in awhile crossed his face.

"Oh my god Marik, that is amazing! Why didn't you tell me before?" Alina shouted, before giving Marik a huge hug.

"Uhhh, I was waiting for the right time I guess," Marik answered, looking taken aback from the hug Alina was giving him.

"That's good news Marik. I'm so happy for you," she added, giving her friend another hug.

"Goonie would be happy for you," Harry joked as he gave Marik a hug too.

"Oh enough with the Goonie already!" Marik shouted while laughing at Harry's joke.

"Do foster parents in the wizarding world work the same as they do in the muggle world?" she asked him. She still didn't know a lot of things about how certain areas of the wizarding world worked.

"Kind of yeah. In the wizarding world though it is closer to just straight adoption though. Since my parents are dead the Shacklebolts are now my legal adopted parents. They have all the the responsibilities and authority over me now just like my parents did. I will be living with them over the summers now too," Marik answered.

"Marik Shacklebolt. I like it," Alina said.

"I'm not changing my name Alina," Marik said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm think you should," Harry said.

"Sounds better than Ose that's for sure," she added, flashing Marik a grin.

"Wow. Feeling the love guys," Marik laughed, shaking his head.

"You know you kind of do look Kingsley now that I think about it," she joked too, feeling happy for her friend that he still had a home to go to over the summer.

"Yeah, he does. They both have the same thick eyebrows," Harry added, leaning his head in close to Marik's.

"Really?" Marik shook his head.

"So do you get grounded or detentions now?" Alina asked him.

"Or spanked?" she added. Harry did a spit take with the last of his wine. They all found themselves rolling on the ground dying from laughing after that.

If anyone would have seen them then they would have thought their group was a little crazy. Maybe they were too. So many bad things had happened that year but you never would have been able to tell by looking at them now. In all the bad that had happened just as many good things had happened too. It seemed that professor McGonagall had lied to them, third year wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

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	38. Book4: Chapter 1

**Marik**

The burning logs and roaring fire began to dance around as the flames inside the fireplace began to grow higher and brighter. In a quick burst of magical energy, the flames changed from a deep reddish-orange into a bright-green, filling the entire room with the vibrant light. Out of the dancing flames a smiling Luna emerged, moving gracefully out onto the carpeted floor of the living room with a skip.

"Hey Luna," he greeted her, getting up from his spot on the sofa to give her a welcoming hug and kiss.

"Hello Marik," luna replied, returning his kiss. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Shacklebolt. Thank you for allowing me to come over again."

"Luna, I told you over the summer to just call me Kingsley, I won't give you detention here I promise," Kingsley reminded Luna whilst laughing. Marik knew that even when school was in session Kingsley hated to be called Mr. Shacklebolt or heaven forbid professor Shacklebolt. He always said it made him sound older than he really was, which Marik knew to be kind of old.

"Sorry sir, old habit," Luna replied to Kingsley with a smile.

"So what are you two sweet things up to today?" Majesty asked the two of them.

"I was actually looking forward to finding that out as well," Luna answered, turning to him with a look of curiosity.

"Nothing special, it's just a nice day outside so I figured we would walk around town some today or something," Marik answered, he really had not planned anything special today, he had just wanted Luna to come over and spend some time with him.

"Well you both have fun then and make sure you are back by dinner," Kingsley told them. Marik nodded and led Luna out of the house.

Kingsley and his wife Majesty lived in Castle Combe, which was in Wiltshire, England. It was a fairly small village, dotted with large thatched cottages that appeared to have been around since Roman times. Many of the cottages throughout the village had been upgraded or rebuilt over the years to combat father time, but for the most part Castle Combe looked to be a town that was almost lost in time.

In his short stay with the Shackle bolts, Marik had already learned a lot about the history of the small town and the Shacklebolt family. Most of the people in the village were muggles, outside of the Shacklebolts and one other elderly wizarding family. He had learned that the village itself was one of the oldest villages in all of Britain from what Kingsley had told him, and owed its origins back to settlers from times even before Claudius's invasions of the isles back in 43 AD. Since then the town had always been what Kingsley called an ale town.

Most of the villagers still worked at a local brewery a few miles outside of town, however, just as many brewed their own ales and beers and sold them out of small market shops and stalls that they set up during pretty days like Shacklebolt family had lived in Castle Combe for over three hundred years now. The Shacklebolt family was one of the few families that had not invested into the ale market in Castle Combe, instead the Shacklebolt family had at one time owned and run one of the largest prisons in all of Britain, only outsized by Azkaban itself. The large castle, a little ways north of the village on a small island right off the coast, was where the prison had once been located in and had once had been Shacklebolt family property.

The prison had been closed for more than a hundred years now, and when Kingsley had become the oldest male in the family line he had sold the castle, and _settled_ for living in one of the largest cottages in the town. When Marik asked Kingsley why he had sold the castle, Kingsley had told him that he did not enjoy living in such a large home, which Marik thought was a wee bit hypocritical sense the _small_ cottage Kingsley currently lived in was at least three of Marik family's old home put together.

The castle was now owned by the ministry, who were slowly turning it into a historical tourist site. Marik had visited it a few times already and had gone on the weekly tour that ran through it once, but to be honest visiting an old prison was not the most exciting thing to do in the world.

Another thing Marik had learned about his new foster parents was that the Shacklebolt family was one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, which meant that Kingsley's family was one of the few, actual, pureblood families left in Britain. Kingsley, unlike most purebloods, did not think of this as much of an achievement though, and said it was just coincidence that people in his family fell in love with other purebloods. Marik wasn't sure how much he actually believed that though.

"So was there anywhere specific in town you were wanting to go?" Luna asked him as they exited the house and made their way down the long main street that cut through the middle of the village.

"Nowhere specific. I figured we could just walk and talk for awhile. I just wanted to see you today," he answered his girlfriend, flashing her a quick smile. Walking around village of Castle Combe had become a daily event for Marik. It was the best way he had found in his new life to clear his mind and keep his head screwed on straight when things got tough. Most days he enjoyed going off on his own and enjoying the peaceful quietness of the town, but today he had felt like bringing Luna long with him.

"You're too sweet," Luna said, returning his smile and grabbing his hand, wrapping it in hers.

"Plus, on nice days like this a lot of the townspeople open up their shop stalls, figured maybe we could find something cool," he added, as they continued to walk down the street hand in hand.

"I've never been to a muggle shop before. What do they sell?" Luna asked him curiously.

"Well this is an ale town, so most places sell their self-bottled-beers, but there are a lot of little craft stores too. This is where Majesty gets all her crazy jewelry that you like from."

"Ooh I love her jewelry, now I'm excited!" Luna replied. He just laughed. Luna would like Majesty's over dramatic jewelry. He noted at the mention of jewelry that Luna was wearing the large golden apple earrings he had seen on her once before. She was one of the few people in the world who could pull off such a, dramatic, style.

"Maybe I will have to get you something then."

"You already bought me that book on Nargles the last time we hung out. You don't need to buy me anything else," Luna argued as they made their way closer to some of the first shops.

"Well I like buying you stuff so yeah! And besides I had never even heard of a Nargle before so that book was for me just as much as it was for you," he argued back. Luna just shook her head as she smiled again.

"Maybe I will have to get you some jewelry too then. I think some gold earrings would fit you nicely," Luna said looking off in the distance. He couldn't tell if she was being serious or not, but hoped for the latter.

The walk into town was a short one from the Shackle bolts and within minutes they could see the colorful stalls dotted along the street's edge. He had never been much of a flyer in his years at Hogwarts but Marik had always wanted to get on a broom and look down on this place from above ever since he had first come into town. All of the stalls were topped with a bright colored fabric and in their long rows they resembled strips of a rainbow.

"Let's go check out this place," he said to Luna, pulling her along with him by the hand to one of the first roadside stalls.

"Hello, how are you two doing today?" the elderly lady behind the stall asked them as they approached her shop. The stall was a smaller one compared to the majority of other stalls along the main road. This lady's stall had three small tables set up with rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets of all shapes, sizes, and colors laid out. Marik could already see Luna's eyes widen at the sight of so much jewelry.

"Hello," he and Luna said in unison.

"We are doing good today. Just came into town to take a look at all of the stalls today," Marik added. Luna had already started to look through some of the hand made bracelets.

"You are a smart boy then. Best way to earn some kisses and favor from a woman is to get her some jewelry," the elderly lady told him as she sprouted a wide grin.

"He is quite the smart one isn't he?" Luna added, flashing him a wink as she continued to look over the wares.

"Hey I didn't. . ." he started to argue back, but the two women had already struck up a new conversation about one of the pieces of jewelry Luna was holding.

"I have never seen a bracelet like this before. It is quite beautiful," Luna said to the shop keeper as she held up a bracelet.

"Ahh that is a memory bracelet. It is woven with one of my best black and silver threads," the elderly lady replied, looking proud at her work.

"Why is it called a memory bracelet?" Luna asked, examining it like it may hold some enchantment or something inside it's strings. Marik smiled as Luna looked over the bracelet, it was always funny to observe when a wizard interacted with the muggle world.

"It is an old tradition in this town. Whenever we use black thread in a piece of jewelry or clothing we are supposed to remember a sad memory as we weave. It is almost a way of sewing away our sorrows. The next color of thread we use finishes the piece's story. I used silver in this particular one which signifies wealth."

"Meaning you have grown richer in life from your sad memories and experiences," Luna answered the elderly lady, looking the bracelet over. It looked like any of the other regular bracelets to him.

"Very good dear," the elderly lady looked happy that Luna was appreciating her work.

"It is quite beautiful work and a very powerful symbol. Marik try this on," Luna told him, handing the bracelet.

"I don't really know if this is my style," he tried to argue. Luna gave him a quick glare and that was all he needed to take the bracelet from her and put it on. Luna was one of the sweetest girls Marik had ever met, but once she was set on something there was no budging her.

"It looks good on you boy. Makes you look even handsomer!" the elderly stall keeper told him in obvious attempt to flatter him.

"It does look quite good on you. It makes the silver in your eyes look a little brighter. And I think it's story fits you," Luna said smiling.

"If you say so," he replied, looking over the thin woven string bracelet now on his wrist. He guessed it wasn't so bad, and he was always all for looking more handsome.

"I will take it," Luna said reaching into her purse.

"Uhh Luna, you can just pay me back," he said trying not to laugh as the lady looked at Luna like she was crazy when she was handed a wizard's galleon. Marik reached into his wallet and pulled out some of the muggle money he had left and handed it to the stall keeper. The two of them moved on and headed down the street from there.

"Thank you Luna," he told her as he took her hand in his again.

"You're welcome Marik. I never knew muggles had their own type of money. That is most interesting," Luna replied in her deep in thought voice.

"Yeah, I should have thought about that earlier."

"Well on our next date I get to buy everything, you spend too much of your money on me."

"Technically I just spent that money on me."

"True. Ooh a book store. I have never read a muggle book before," Luna said, sounding excited and headed off towards the small bookstore. He followed her lead and they made their way into the small shop.

"Welcome to _Ben's Books!_ Just call for me if you need help finding anything," the shopkeeper shouted to them as they entered.

"There are so many books here. Who is this _Don Quixote_ man Marik?" Luna asked as she looked through one of the books on the first shelves she came across. "Mmm I love the smell of old books."

"I think if I remember correctly it is a story of a knight who hates windmills or something," Marik answered. He had been assigned that book to read when he was younger, but from what he remembered one of his many bullies had stolen his copy before he could actually finish it.

"It is an odd thing to hate isn't it. Do all muggles hate windmills?" Luna asked him.

"No, I think it was just him," he replied, laughing a little at Luna's question.

"Did you read many of these books growing up?" Luna asked him as she moved on further down the shelf.

"Yeah, I read a lot when I was younger."

"Which one was your favorite?" she asked him again, picking up another book from the shelf.

"Hmm. . ." he started to think. "I'm not sure. I liked _Nineteen Eighty Four_ by George Orwell a lot growing up," he answered her, struggling to think of a book.

"What is it about?" Luna asked him curiously.

"It's been awhile since I read it so my memory is foggy. I'm pretty sure it was about a guy who thinks the world he lives in is corrupt and no good. So he tries to rebel against it, believing there is more to life. In the end though he is caught and brainwashed to believe the world he lives in is perfect. Or something like that."

"Doesn't sound very good," Luna replied bluntly.

"Yeah, I did a poor job of explaining it. It was a good book back in the day though, made you think a lot."

"This is odd," Luna said, picking up another book, this one dustier than many of the others around it.

"What is?" he asked her.

"This is a wizarding book," she said showing him the book, _The Tales of Beedle the Bard._

"I've never heard of it," he said, looking over Luna's shoulder as she flipped through the book.

"It was actually one of my favorite children's books growing up," Luna said with a smile as she flipped through the pages.

"What is it about?" he asked her curiously.

"Well it is a collection of a bunch of short stories in one novel, but my favorite story is the _The Tale of the Four Brothers._ _The_ _Quibbler_ actually still has a monthly section on any rumors with the Deathly Hallows, it is one of the more popular articles in the paper."

"What are the Deathly Hallows?"

"You have never heard the story of the Deathly Hallows before?" Luna asked him, looking amazed that he had not.

"Nope."

"You should certainly buy this then, I will pay you back for it later. It is one of the most famous wizarding legends there is in Britain. It would be better to read it than for me to tell you."

"Okay then. Is there anything else you want while we are here?." he asked Luna, taking the dusty book from her.

"No, I'm good. I'm excited for you to read this. My mother used to read me these stories every night when I was younger," Luna told him as they paid for the book at the counter.

"Maybe If you are lucky I will read some of it to you then," he said, giving her a flirtatious wink.

"Maybe if _you_ are lucky I will stay over long enough to listen," Luna winked back.

"Touche," He laughed as they headed out of the store.

"So where to next?" Luna asked as they began walking on the main street again.

"Hmm, it actually doesn't look like there are that many more stalls open today. You down to just find a spot and relax for a bit?"

"With you? I don't know about that. . ." Luna replied sarcastically.

"Oh shut up. C'mon then," he said, rolling his eyes. He grabbed Luna's hand and led her down a few side streets to the bridge that stretched across the small creek cutting through Castle Combe.

The spot was one of his favorites in the entire village. Most days when it wasn't raining he would bring a few of his books over here and sit next to the bridge with his feet dipped into the water and read. It reminded him a lot of sitting by the great lake at Hogwarts, and it always seemed to make him a little less homesick sitting there. He showed Luna to his usual spot next to the bridge and immediately began taking off his shoes so that he could dip his feet in.

"How is the water?" Luna asked as she sat down next to him.

"Pretty warm, it feels good," he answered, dipping his feet in. The weak current massaged his ankles as the water flowed past them.

"Is this the spot you were telling me about, where you come to read?" Luna asked him.

"Yeah, it's the one."

"It's quite the pretty spot. My home has a small creek that runs behind it. I used to set up nets along the shoreline and try to catch rhyme fish there when I was little," Luna said, her eyes looking out over the creek's waters.

"What is a rhyme fish?" he asked her. Luna knew more about magical creatures than probably even Hagrid did it seemed at times.

"They are just normal creek fish that make their nests in pairs of twos. I don't actually know where their name comes from though."

"Huh. So what have you been up to since the last time you came over?" he asked, changing the subject from fish.

"I've been doing quite a lot of work on ancient runes actually. I want to make sure I am ready for my first class in it."

"That's all I did during my third year summer too. How is your practice on it coming along?"

"Quite well actually. Although I must admit watching you carve runes made the concepts much easier to grasp."

"Well I am quite the good teacher. Speaking of runes I added another rune tattoo to my collection," he said, pulling up the sleeve on his left arm to show Luna his newest tattoo.

There is a muggle saying for a certain brand of potato chips that states _I bet you can't have just one._ That saying, Marik had discovered, can also be applied not only to chips, but also to tattoos. In less than a year he had already become addicted with his rune tattoos and was having to use a lot of self control to keep from getting carried away with them.

As of now he had already done rune tattoos for _umbrosio, wingardium leviosa, accio, protego,_ and _incendio_ spells. Marik had always like tattoos and after a few more of his rune tattoos his left forearm would probably be completely covered. The _incendio_ rune tattoo was his latest one and he had placed it near his wrist on his left arm. The artwork for the spell that the rune created was probably his second favorite one yet, following close behind to his shadow magic rune tattoo.

The rune tattoos were extremely useful and made wandless casting much easier to do. It also helped to amplify the power you could usually put into a wandless spell. For example the _accio_ spell was fairly easy to cast without a wand after a bit of practice. With the rune tattoo for the spell he could wandlessly cast the spell and now be able to summon objects from further away and at greater speeds. It was still not as good as casting with a wand but any increase in spell power he saw as a plus.

"It looks really good. You are starting run out of space though," Luna replied as she looked over the new rune tattoo on his arm.

"I know I am, gonna have to move up my arm soon."

"I never thought I was much of a tattoo person myself, but I have to admit I do like yours. I actually find them quite hot if I'm honest," Luna said flirtatiously, resting her head on his shoulder.

"In that case I will have to do a lot more of them then. Gotta look hot for my gal."

"You already do, trust me. Do you mind if I ask you a personal question Marik?"

"Of course not. Go ahead."

"How are you doing?" Luna lifted her head up from his shoulder and looked into his eyes as she asked him.

"Uhhh good?" he replied, a little confused at the sudden question.

"Maybe I should have clarified more. You've been living in a new home, a new house, with new parents. How are you doing with all of that?"

"Oh. . . Good I guess. I try not to think about it all too much to be honest. Living with Kingsley kind of makes it feel like I'm still at Hogwarts so the fact that I'm actually _living_ with Kingsley doesn't really kick in too often.

"When I'm not doing good or things are getting to me don't worry though. I have my friends and you to help me out and I promise to ask for help when I need it. Me inviting you over today was actually because I kind of wanted help today."

"What do you need help with?" Luna asked him, her words sounding sincere.

"I just didn't want to be alone today ya know? I had a bad dream last night and didn't sleep too well so I figured I would get you to come over to keep me from overthinking. Sorry that is selfish I know," he answered, feeling a little guilty.

"I wish you be selfish and invite me over a little more." Luna winked at him. "What was your dream about? You don't have to answer it if you don't want to."

"I don't mind. In the dream I had just gotten off the Hogwarts Express train and sat down on a bench at King's Cross Station waiting for my parents to pick me up. I just sat there watching everyone else come and go until I was the last one there. That was it. It was just me sitting alone on a bench for what felt like hours. So it wasn't a horrible dream by any means, just made me feel a little. . ."

"Lonely," Luna said, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah."

"I get it. Well don't ever feel like you are alone Marik. I'll always be here for you and am always willing to come be with you when you need me," Luna gave him a peck on the lips and a bright smile when she finished speaking.

"Thanks Luna. It really does mean a lot to me I hope you know that."

"I know it does, and you're welcome."

"Wanna makeout?" he joked sarcastically as their conversation ended and silence ensued for a few moments.

"You are such the romantic," Luna replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I know," he said laughing, turning his gaze from hers to look back over the water.

"Well I never said no did I?" Luna said, poking him in the sides.

The two of them spent the next few hours with their feet dipped into the water, lost in conversations, among other things, until the sun began to creep behind the hills across the water. Reluctantly they separated and got their feet out of the water and began heading back to the house.

"Thank you for taking me into town today," Luna said, grabbing his hand again.

"Of course. Thank you for visiting me today."

"You are very welcome!" she said with a smile as she rested her head against his arm.

"Did you have fun?"

"Of course I did. I thought you could tell that from our time by the creek though," Luna said with a devilish look.

The two of them made their way back to Kingsley's where they were told dinner would be served in a few minutes. After showing Majesty the new bracelet that Luna had bought for him the two of them made their way to the sitting room while they waited for dinner to be served.

"Okay, I want to read to this thing," he said as Luna and him sat down on the sofa. Luna quickly snuggled up against his arm.

"I'm excited," Luna replied as he took the book out of its bag and began to read.

 _The Tale of the Four Brothers_

 _There were once four brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across the bridge when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure._

 _And Death spoke to them. Death was angry that he had been cheated out of four new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the four brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him._

 _So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from an elder branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother._

 _The second brother Death approached had always been jealous of the magic his three brothers were able to perform, and as a squib he saw this as an opportunity to become magically superior than his brothers. So the second brother asked Death for something that would allow him to absorb the magic of the world so that he could have even more magic than his brothers did. So Death reached down to the ground, picked up a single stone from the riverbank. The stone turned blacker than onyx in Death's grip and when fully turned to black Death handed it to the second brother._

 _The third brother sat and waited impatiently before Death turned to him and asked what it was that he desired. The third brother, who considered himself the sharpest of the four, decided that he wanted to be wiser than anyone else in the world, even Death. So he asked Death for the knowledge of all things magical in the world. So Death picked up a few pieces of bark from the nearby elder tree along with a few of the tree's leaves. With his magic, Death weaved the bark and leaves into a magical tome, and gave it to the third brother._

 _And then Death asked the fourth and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was truly the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility._

 _Then Death stood aside and allowed the four brothers to continue on their way, and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts._

 _In due course the brothers separated, each for his own destination. The first brother traveled on for a week or more, and reaching a distant village, sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible._

 _That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat._

 _And so Death took the first brother for his own._

 _Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that Death had gifted him, and turned it thrice in his hand. Magical energy entered into the brother's home through every window and every door, and entered into the brother himself. More and more the brother turned the stone in his hand, wanting all the magic he could get. The brother continued to turn the stone until he found that he could turn the stone no more; the brother's body had absorbed more magic than he was able to hold. In a burst of magical light, the light from the second brother's world vanished and the second brother fell in a heap to the ground of his home._

 _And so Death took the second brother for his own._

 _The third brother traveled to the nearest city he could find, and hurriedly headed towards the town's library. With a hunger and lust for knowledge of all things magical in this world the third brother began writing the titles of every magical tome inside the library into his Elder Tome. With an unhealthy obsession, he added and proceeded to read all of the books he could with the tome Death had rewarded him with. Through his obsession for learning and hunger for knowledge the third brother got lost inside the numerous worlds of his books and ignored the world around him. The third brother eventually became hungry, but was too caught up in his readings to notice, he died of that hunger in the same library a few days later._

 _And so Death took the third brother for his own._

 _But though Death searched for the fourth brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took of the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and as equals, they departed this life._

"It is a gloomy story isn't it?" Kingsley asked. Marik jumped a little in his seat as he looked up and say both Kingsley and his wife had sat down on the couch across from them.

"Jesus Kings, you scared the hell out of me! People actually read this to their kids? I thought Bambi was bad but this is just dark!" he said, amazed that this was a children's story. He would have had nightmares if his parents would have read this to him when he was young.

"It is quite a dark story, but it is impossible to deny the imagination that it evokes in a young mind," Luna said, taking the book from him to look it over herself.

"Why would you want a kid to imagine so much death?" he asked, confused.

"Not death, the Deathly Hallows," Luna answered him.

"I still don't even know what the Deathly Hallows are?" he admitted.

"Dinner is ready, so let's continue this conversation at the table," Majesty announced, and they all followed her to the table. He quickly grabbed the breadbasket as soon as he sat down and threw three rolls onto his plate. Majesty could bake bread that tasted almost as good as the bread at Hogwarts and much to his delight she served it almost every night. Majesty was strick with the butter dish on the downside though.

"So what are these Deathly Hallow things?" still curious, he asked again as they sat down.

"Here look," Luna told him as she transfigured her napkins to a quill and ink bottle before grabbing his napkin to draw on. "First you have the fourth brother's Cloak of Invisibility," Luna said to him as she drew a large triangle on his napkin. "Then you have the third brother's Death's Diamond," Luna continued to tell him as she added a large circle inside of the triangle. "Next you have the first brother's Elder Wand," Luna added a straight line down the middle of triangle and through the circle. "And last you have the third brother's Elder Tome," Luna finished adding two more small lines and held up the napkin for him to see.

"I still don't get it," he replied, stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth.

"The Elder Wand, Death's Diamond, Elder Tome, and Cloak of Invisibility are the Deathly Hallows," Kingsley answered from his chair at the head of the table.

"Okay. . . So I get that the brother's gifts make up this symbol, and that they are the Deathly Hallows, but how does the story inspire imagination."

"Marik you are about to duel in a very important tournament this summer yes?" Luna asked him.

"Yeah?" he asked, confused where this was going.

"Imagine if you had a wand that guaranteed you would win the tournament."

"Well I kind of do," he said sarcastically, causing Kingsley and Majesty to laugh, Luna just rolled her eyes.

"While, yes, I agree that you will win the tournament again this year let's try to think about this a different way. Imagine during your time at Hogwarts that you had a book that could grant you access to every book on magic in the world as long as you knew the title of the book. You would have access to books and spells that nobody else in the castle did. Or imagine if you had the ability to drain the magic of your opponents and the world around you constantly and use it as your own power."

"Yeah, I guess they all do sound appealing," he started to say, when it dawned on him.

 _Harry has an invisibility cloak. . ._

"These things are not real though. . . right?" he asked, trying to hide his expression.

 _Was Harry's cloak the same one from this story? Could Harry have one of these Deathly Hallows in his possession already?_

"That's what makes the story so popular," Majesty answered him.

"People have been debating their actual existence for hundreds of years now," Kingsley added.

"That's what my father does his monthly update in _The Quibbler_ on. Anytime a new rumor sprouts up about one of the hallows he reports it," Luna said.

"Has anyone proved that they have one of the hallows? Or where they might be?" he asked.

"See," Luna said with a smug smile.

"See what?" he asked, grabbing another piece of bread and looking for where the butter had gone off too.

"The story has your mind racing and asking questions. You are already imagining a world in which they do exist, that's why it is a good story," Luna replied. He guessed she was right.

"Well has anyone?" he asked, trying not to let Luna know she had been right. From her face it was clear she already knew though.

"The Elder Wand is about the only one of the Deathly Hallows that people have claimed to have had or seen in recent years. All of the other Hallows have not been claimed or seen according to reports in at least 300 years," Luna answered him.

"Most of the claims have come out to be false though. The last big rumor was that Grindelwald had the Elder Wand when he was in power, but when he was captured his wand was examined closely and proved to be just a normal wand," Kingsley added.

"Do you guys believe the Deathly Hallows are real?" he asked the group.

"I do. Although, I think it very likely that most of them are currently lost, buried, or hidden away where we are unlikely to ever find them," Luna answered as she finished her food.

"I don't know if I believe the story fully, but I think it is very possible such powerful items could exist," Kingsley told him.

"Hmm. . ." was all he said, his mind lost in thought. For the rest of the dinner his mind wandered through the story he had just read, wondering if such items actually existed.

He definitely could understand why the prospect of the Deathly Hallows being real was so appealing. He could remember countless times he had pretended to have the one ring from Lord of the Rings or Thor's hammer. Powerful, magical items were appealing even outside of the magical world and being the one to have them was the dream of who knows how many children in the world.

"Thank you for dinner again," Luna announced as she took her plate into the kitchen.

"Of course Luna, and you are welcome back to dinner anytime dear," Majesty told Luna.

"Will you be going to the tournament this summer Luna?" Kingsley asked Luna from behind his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Yes Prof-Kingsley, I will be. I'm excited to see Marik duel again," Luna answered, flashing him a smile.

"He better not let me down. I have spent too much time for that to happen," Kingsley said while staring hard at Marik with a glare.

" _You_ have spent too much time?" he asked Kingsley, rolling his eyes.

"Yes _I_ have! Which reminds me one of Flitwick's colleagues is coming over tomorrow to practice duel with us. So you need to be up early," Kingsley told him as he stood up.

"Ughh. . ." was all he said as his head fell to the table. Kingsley had been making him work almost nonstop on his dueling everyday over the summer, it looked like today would end up being his only day off for who knows how long.

"I should let you go get some sleep then," Luna said as she stood up. "Thank you again," Luna added as she waved goodbye to the Shacklebolts.

"Bye Luna," Majesty said as Luna led him back to the fireplace in the living room.

"Thank you again for inviting me over. I had a lot fun," Luna said, turning to meet his gaze.

"Of course. You need to come back before the tournament too. Oh and thanks for the bracelet."

"You don't have to wear it if you don't want to Marik," Luna said to him. He took her hands in his.

"I want to wear it. It's growing on me."

"You are growing on me," Luna said flirtatiously.

"Well I would sure hope so. I guess you are growing on me too," He replied, trying to flirt back.

Luna leaned in and gave him a kiss. For a few minutes the two of them stayed like that, both of their arms wrapped around the other, and their tongues fighting against the others. After a few more minutes of kissing, he broke the kiss off and Luna headed through the fireplace back home.

He grabbed his new book off of the sofa and ran off to his room. He immediately took out a piece of parchment and started to write a letter to Alina. He quickly crumpled up the paper though and instead started writing a letter to Harry, asking him for more information on what he knew about his cloak and the Deathly Hallows.

After sending the letter off he headed down to the library and looked for some history books, seeing what else he could find on the Deathly Hallows. Luna was right, the story really did make your imagination run wild.

* * *

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	39. Book4: Chapter 2

**Alina**

The loud roaring of the crowd inside Wembley stadium only continued to grow as the time got closer to the start of the second year's round of the European Magic Students Dueling Championship. Even from her seat inside the duelist's pavilion she could hear the loud chants for _Hogwarts_ reigning supreme among all of the crowd's cheers as the first year championship was coming to a close. She peeked her head out through the curtain of the duelist's pavilion to take another look at the growing crowd.

The stands this year seemed to be even more packed than they had been the first two years of the tournament, if that was even possible. It looked as if every person from Hogwarts along with their families and their uncle had made the short trip down to London for the tournament this year. It was easy to tell even from where she was that the Hogwarts section was by far the most packed in the stadium. She could only make out small sections of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons supporters scattered among the sea of black robes. She certainly would not have to worry about home field advantage this year that was for sure. This year she would certainly have the support of the fans on her side.

Moving her eyes from the stands she looked over towards the dueling platform, taking in its layout one more time. She had already begun to plan out a number of strategies as soon as she had arrived at the stadium that morning, but a little more planning never hurt anyone.

 _God I have been hanging out with Hermione too much._ She thought to herself at the thought of a little more planning never hurt.

This year the stadium was only divided into two distinct sides instead of the usual four, she guessed they were trying to mix things up or something. The left side of the stadium this year was a grassy, hilly area, and had just a few trees and large boulders scattered throughout it. The right side of the stadium was another grassy area, this one though with a larger number of trees spread around and a small pond sitting near its center.

The platform this year, she personally thought, was much more simpler than last year's platform had been. Whether that was a good or bad thing though she still remained undecided. On one hand the lack of features and distinct biomes meant less areas of attack to worry about defending against; on the other hand it meant you had less offensive tactics to utilize to your advantage. Regardless of the changes in the biomes she was still feeling confident about repeating this year.

Ever since her second year at Hogwarts had come to an end her mind had been entirely focused on preparing for this tournament. Just as she had done last year, any free time she had available was spent honing all of her dueling techniques and working on her spellwork. Thanks to being chosen by the professors as one of the six students to receive the Ministry's Magic Permission Device, which allowed her to practice magic over the summer, she was able to practice her magic everyday at home, which certainly helped to boost her confidence a lot more.

Hermione had also been a huge help again this summer in preparing for the tournament. Alina had been allowed to stay at the Granger's vacation house in France for a week again this summer, and even though they could not duel inside Hermione's family's condo, she and Hermione were able to practice almost every spell you could think of during their week together. Needless to say, she was ready to freaking duel!

The first year's tournament was in its final round, and was currently proving to be a good competition between Durmstrang and Beauxbaton's champions. Hogwart's first year champion had been a Ravenclaw boy named Arnold Deafhill, who had somehow managed to get beaten so bad in his first duel that he was forced to forfeit the rest of his duels. The rest of the first year's tournament had been fairly entertaining though. Although the more she watched the more she found it difficult to believe that she had been in their shoes only just a year ago. It felt like so much longer since she had been in her first ever EMSDC.

"I don't think the stadium is big enough," A voice said beside her, causing her to jump in her seat and pull her head back in from outside the curtain. She turned her head to see a boy she had never seen before. She noted, as he pulled his head back in from the part in the curtain he had been glancing through, that he had short black hair and was wearing Durmstrang robes. After recovering from being surprised it took her a few seconds to remember that he had just said something to her.

"I agree, such a disappointment," She replied to his comments sarcastically.

"I sense sarcasm," The boy said, flashing her a large smile as he sat down across from her.

"Good catch," She said, rolling her eyes at him.

"I'm Dedrick by the way," The boy said, extending his hand out to her.

"Alina."

"Alina is a very pretty name. So you are the great, Alina, champion duelist of our year then huh?" he said, not attempting to hide his obvious flattering.

"Thank you, and yes I am the _great Alina_! I take it you are the Durmstrang champion this year then?" she asked him.

"Wow someone is a little conceited. And Yeah, I am," Dedrick said laughing.

"I am not conceited, only confident. And plus I can't be conceited if you are the one who said it first," she argued back.

"Whatever floats your boat sweetheart," Dedrick responded, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.

"See your the conceited one. Think you can just get away with calling me sweetheart already?" she asked him playfully.

"Of course I can, pretty people get away with anything," he said, his large grin growing more.

"Oh is that right?"

"Mhmm," Dedrick replied, looking smug.

"Alright then," She threw one of the apples in the tray on the table in front of her at him. It him him square in the arm.

"What was that for?" Dedrick said, surprised at her actions, but still grinning.

"Pretty people get away with anything," she answered him, sending him a wink.

"Oh you play dirty! I will remember that," Dedrick said, his big grin returning.

"I don't know if they told you, _sweetheart,_ but only the winner of the qualifying round gets to duel me. So sorry," she said again playfully.

"Look at you already calling me sweetheart, man I'm good," Dedrick said, returning her wink. "And trust me, we will be meeting in the finals.".

"Now who's cocky?" she asked him.

"I never said I wasn't. And why wouldn't I be? Any guy would be cocky when a pretty girl starts calling him sweetheart before even their first date."

"Oh so now we are going on a first date? Man you are delusional," she said laughing a little. This kid took Marik's level of sarcasm and smugness to a whole nother level.

"Now that I will agree with you on," Dedrick replied, and she couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'm thinking either a good walk on the coastline where I tell you about my childhood, or a nice quiet place to have lunch where you tell me embarrassing stories about what's happened to you at school. I'll let you know when I decide."

"Oh, sorry that won't work, I'm busy that day."

"Wow! So that is your tactic huh? You break a guy's heart so he is too broken to beat you in a duel," Dedrick joked.

"It's a better strategy than yours is!" she argued playfully back.

"Hey my strategy is good! Right when you are about to beat me in the duel you'll get all hot and bothered thinking about how handsome I am and then bam!" she laughed again.

"You are bad," she told him, shaking her head.

"I was always told chicks dug the bad boys," Dedrick said.

"Only the bad boys think that."

"Sounds like something a good girl would say."

"You're damn right!" she shouted.

"And that sounds like something a bad girl would say," Dedrick laughed, she couldn't help but laugh too.

"Shouldn't you be focusing on the tournament right now?" she asked him as she looked around the tent and saw the other second year duelists preparing.

"Why would I want to do that. You are much more fun," he said, giving her another smile and wink.

"Well I know that, but focusing sounds like a good idea for someone who didn't even make the tournament last year," she said, making fun of him a little.

"For your information, Miss Alina, I did make the tournament last year but got replaced at the last minute," he told her, sticking out his tongue when he finished.

"Likely story. Why did you get replaced?"

"Apparently getting suspended from school is a bad thing, especially when your dad is the Headmaster," Dedrick said laughing.

"See, you _are_ a bad boy. Your dad is the Headmaster of Durmstrang?" she asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, yeah. Oh and you like it!" he argued.

"What did you do to get suspended. And no I don't!" she asked him before arguing.

"I may or may not have stunned one of my professors," he answered her, mumbling the last part.

"Wow you are dumb! Why on earth would you do something so stupid?" she asked him, laughing at what she was hearing.

"He had it coming! He told me he would rather be stunned repeatedly then have an arguement with me in class, so I gave him what he wanted," Dedrick answered.

"You are crazy. I can't believe they even let you back in the school," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Perks of being the best."

"Trust me I know the perks."

"Oh I like you Alina," he said, flashing her another wide grin.

"Most people do," she over dramatically flipped her hair.

"Alright everyone get ready for your names to be called," one of the organizers announced to their group, ending her and Dedrick's conversation. They all stood up and made their way over to the arena entrance.

"I look forward to our duel later Alina," Dedrick whispered as they made their way out into the stadium.

The stands went even crazier as they exited the duelist's pavilion and the cheers got even louder as they all made their way out to the center of the platform. Apparently the first year's tournament had been a good one, as everyone in the crowd seemed riled up and ready for more. She blushed a little as she heard her father making loud comments from wherever he was in the stands. She waved to where her father's loud cheers were coming from and took a few bows as the Hogwarts section cheered.

"It is time for the second year's tournament. Before I announce the names of this year's challengers I would first like to announce our current champion title holder for this year, Alina Black!" Dumbledore began announcing to the crowd. She took a few more bows as the Hogwart's section shouted. She tried to embellish the moment for as long as she could.

 _God I love doing this._ She thought to herself as an uncontrollable smile had emerged on her face.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are excited to watch you defend your title this year. Now I would like to announce the second year challengers for each school. Starting with Hogwarts, your second year champion is, Ginny Weasley!"

It made her happy when the crowd cheered louder for her than they did when Ginny's name was called. However, she was a little jealous of the firework display that went off and formed a giant Weasley ' _W'_ in the sky.

 _Stupid redhead twins and their toys._

"Next, from Durmstrang Institute your second year champion is, Dedrick Karkaroff!" Alina found her eyes rolling yet again as she watched the Dedrick boy react to all the cheers and shouts from the Durmstrang section. After he had done enough bows to make Alina's back even hurt Dumbledore thankfully continued.

"And last but not least, making her second appearance in this tournament, from Beauxbatons Academy, your champion is, Kanami Ewings!"

This time the large French section of the stands erupted into applause and sang their school's anthem as Kanami curtsied to the Beauxbatons crowd.

Even though she would not have to duel until the very last duel this year, Alina was still going to keep an extra eye out for Kanami this year. The girl had come at her last year with a strategy from seemingly nowhere and nearly gotten the best of Alina. Kanami had been good last year, there was no telling how much better she was after a year of practice.

After Dumbledore announced each of the duelists for their year she made her way over to the sideline area to watch. She was excited to get to watch for the first few duels this time around. Last tournament right about now her nerves had been going insane as she waited for her name to be called. This year though she got to sit back and relax and hopefully she would get to see some exciting duels.

The first duel was announced and would be between Durmstrang and Hogwarts. So that meant Ginny would be dueling the overly flirtatious Dedrick. She was anxious to see if the boy was able to actually back up any of his talk; with guys like him the answer was normally _no_. Ginny on the other hand Alina already knew could back things up.

Ginny was given the left side of the platform and Dedrick was given the right. The two of them bowed to each other and waited on their respective sides for the center light to change. As soon as the light changed they were both off.

" _Reducto, rubyflamen, azuflamen!"_ Ginny started the duel off with three powerful blast spells. If there was one thing Alina knew about Ginny it was that the girl sure knew her blast spells, and could cast them with a power level that no other person in their year could.

" _Protego!"_ Dedrick countered Ginny's onslaught of blast spells by just throwing up a large shield. His shield didn't seem to waver in its strength as Ginny's spells collided with it one after another.

" _Stupefy, expulso, reducto!"_ again Ginny fired off another round of powerful spells, starting with a huge stunner.

" _Protego totalum!"_ with a smug grin still on his face Dedrick protected the area around him as again Ginny's spells collided with his shield again one after another. The stunner, explosion spell, and blast spell still weren't enough to even make a dent on Dedrick or his shield though.

" _Rubyflamen, expelliarmus!"_ Ginny sent another flame blast spell at Dedrick as soon as his shield released and followed it up with the disarming spell.

" _Aeriacta, deprimo, stupefy, protego!"_ finally going on the offensive, Dedrick countered the tiring Ginny with an offensive onslaught of his own. Just as Ginny's two spells collided with Dedrick's shield, Dedrick's spells closed in on Ginny.

" _Protego!_ " Ginny shouted out the shield spell just as Dedrick's wind explosion spell was about to hit her. Ginny's shield held strong though and withstood the wind explosion spell, however that was all it withstood up against. As soon as Dedrick's next wind spell hit Ginny the duel was over. As Ginny flew through the air, caught up in a gust of wind, she was helpless as Dedrick's powerful stunner hit her square in the back and knocked her out cold.

The small Durmstrang section cheered for their victor as he bowed dramatically to the crowd, a large grin still on his face.

 _So I guess he isn't so bad, but none of that was too impressive._ She thought to herself, as Dedrick headed towards the sidelines and of course grabbed the seat next to her.

"So what did you think?" he asked her as a member of the medical staff brought him some potions.

"Wasn't very impressive," she told him honestly.

"Well I can't be using all of my good stuff in the first duel now can I?" he said, his smug grin returning.

"Whatever you say, I still think you are all talk though."

"How about we make a bet then?" he asked her.

"I'd rather not," she replied, but he continued anyways.

"I bet that In my next duel that I will win with only casting two spells. If I cast more than two or lose the duel you win. If I cast two spells or less I win, and you have to confess your love for me." Dedrick said to her.

"If you win with two spells I will be impressed. But either way there will be no confessions of love."

"Well then guess I will just have to settle on impressing you. More than I already have," he said, winking again.

The second duel of their tournament was between Ginny, who looked ready for redemption, and Beauxbaton's champion for the second straight year, Kanami Ewings. The two girls looked completely serious and determined to win as they made their way to their sides. Hopefully this duel would be another good one.

" _Stupefy, expelliarmus!_ " Ginny was the first to cast as the duel started, running straight towards Kanami on her side.

" _Expelliarmus, protego._ " As Ginny charged Kanami held her ground, throwing up a shield and sending a disarming spell right at Ginny. With her shield spell up Kanami was also able to send both of Ginny's spells back at her. Unfortunately though both landed wide left of the still charging Ginny.

" _Expulso, reducto!"_ Ginny cast two spells Alina knew she was good at towards Kanami. Sticking with her bread and butter Ginny had chosen to send two powerful blast spells again.

" _Accio_ Water!" Kanami shouted. On her side of the platform, Kanami summoned all of the pond's water into a swirling ball. Once the ball of water was under her control she sent it hurling at Ginny at high speeds, engulfing and extinguishing both of Ginny's blast spells along its way.

" _Protego totalum!"_ Ginny quickly screamed out. Her body was completely engulfed in a shield just as the raging ball of water collided with her. Luckily for Ginny she had got the shield up just in time and all of the water fell to the ground around her shield. Unlucky for Ginny though, Kanami was now charging too.

" _Stupefy!"_ Kanami sent an extremely powerful stunner right at the now, unshielded Ginny.

" _Protego!"_ Kanami's spell had such great speed put behind it that Ginny had no time to counter her and was forced to throw up another shield.

" _Reducto, immobulus, expelliarmus!_ " one after another, Kanami sent three more high powered spells at Ginny. Ginny's shield was strong enough for Kanami's first spell, but just as it had during her first duel, her shield was not strong enough to withstand the next two spells. This time Ginny found herself unable to move due to Kanami's immobilizing spell and was forced to take the _expelliarmus_ spell head on. Unable to do anything, Ginny was left standing helpless as her wand soared through the air until it was caught by Kanami.

Alina took a little pride at seeing Ginny get beaten again. Even if she was supposed to root for Hogwarts the competitive side of her wanted to be the clear leader of their school in her year level. Kanami deserved that win too. She had clearly been watching Ginny's first duel and strategizing to counter all of the blast spells.

Everyone in her year at Hogwarts knew Ginny was amazing at blast spells, however what a lot of people didn't know was that Ginny was not the best at defensive spells. Kanami had apparently, by just watching one duel, discovered this out and used it to her advantage. Kanami let Ginny charge and throw powerful spells at her, hoping to wait patiently until Ginny had used a little of her magical energy up. When Kanami did strike it had been with flawless precision, continually forcing Ginny to keep a shield up until she was all out of juice. It certainly seemed like Kanami had not wasted the year in between the tournaments.

"Looks like it is my time to shine again," Dedrick announced as the duel ended and he stood up and stretched.

"Try not to lose too bad," she said as he made his way towards the stage, he just laughed and kept on walking.

The last duel of the challenger's round was between Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Based off of each of their first two duels this one would no doubt be a good one. Hopefully Dedrick's conceited attitude and betting would not damper the contest and Alina would get a good show. Dedrick and Kanami made their way back to their sides as directed and readied themselves. The light again changed, signaling the start of the last duel of this round, and the two were off.

Kanami, on her side, immediately started firing off high powered blasting spells one after another at Dedrick, who had decided to charge straight at Kanami. As Dedrick continued to charge he somehow managed to dodge all of Kanami's incoming spells by just rolling out of the way as they approached him. As Dedrick narrowed the gap between the two of them, Kanami began to fire off even more spells, these more powerful than her first round of spells.

Dedrick simply just rolled one direction or the other and dodged the spells with ease though. As he closed the gap between the two of them Dedrick finally cast his first spell and summoned a shield in front of him as a powerful spell chain from Kanami neared in.

His shield was strong enough to reflect three of Kanami's spells right back at her. Kanami was forced to throw up a quick shield in order to deflect her own spells. As she deflected the last few of her own spells the gap between the two was only a mere five feet or so.

Right as Kanami's shield disappeared Dedrick blasted off a stunner that seemed to have all his power behind it. From the short range there was no way Kanami could have defended herself against it quickly enough. Her body, like a cannon, shot across the platform before landing with a loud thud on the ground of the dueling platform. The Durmstrang section again erupted into cheers as their duelist had won again.

 _I am impressed. Looks like it is me versus you then._ Dedrick had beaten Kanami with only two spells, just like he said he would. Even if he was a cocky flirt, he had backed up his words and proved himself to be a formidable opponent.

"So tell me you are impressed now," Dedrick told her as he sat down again and received his treatment again.

"I am impressed," she said, making it a point to roll her eyes.

"Awe thank you Alina. You are always so sweet to me," Dedrick said with another smug grin.

"You won't be saying that in a few minutes," she told him.

"I'm sure I will be. Just promise me you won't make too big a deal out of it when I win. I don't like groupies."

"I can't tell you how much I look forward to seeing your broken ego Dedrick," she told him as she stood up and started to prepare herself.

"And I look forward to seeing you in action. I imagine you will be even prettier than you are now," he said flirtatiously again.

She just rolled her eyes at him. After a few minutes Dumbledore called Dedrick and herself to the center of the platform. She found herself blushing again as her father was again shouting louder than anyone else in the stands.

 _No one knew how to embarrass their kids quite like he did._

She was given the right side of the platform for the duel. She made her way over to her side after bowing to Dedrick, who made it a point to whistle at her when she walked away. As she arrived at her side of the platform she rid herself of the noise in the stands and focused on the task in front of her. Her eyes moved to the light overhead in anticipation. As soon as she saw the light change colors she was off.

" _Hori rei, rensa maho!"_ she started the duel with two high powered spells. Her first spell was one of the white-light-magic spells she had created. With the spell, she sent around six beams of powerful light energy right at Dedrick. With her second spell she summoned a long black chain which she then whipped ferociously towards him. Dedrick on his side had already cast as many spells as he did in his last duel. Throwing up a quick area-protection-shield he blocked her first spell and he followed it up with a powerful cutting spell that somehow ripped her thick chain in half, rendering it useless.

" _Luxluvia!"_ she fired off another one of her powerful white light spells. A powerful beam of white-light energy headed straight at Dedrick.

" _Duro, expulso, deprimo, tempesta maximus!"_ she heard Dedrick counter with a spell chain on his side of the platform. His first spell caused her beam of white light to harden itself in mid-air. With his second spell he exploded her now hardened spell and sent it flying right back at her with his third wind gust spell.

" _Protego!"_ she had to summon a shield quickly as pieces of her own spell came flying back at her at high speeds. With Dedrick's last spell, one she had seen Marik use once before, he had summoned a lot of black clouds over their heads.

" _Stupefy, incarcerous, geminio!"_ she threw another spell chain at her opponent before he could get another spell off. However, none of her spells even made it close to him. Her first stunner at about the halfway mark of the arena was struck by a bolt of lighting and vanished into thin air. The ropes that she had used the cloning spell on met the same fate. As the ropes reached towards Dedrick they were caught in a flurry of lightning strikes that sent them all burning to the grown in a pile of ashes.

" _Rainovio!"_ Dedrick, on his side of the platform, was now forcing her to go on the defensive. He had used another spell she had never heard of before so she prepared herself for anything.

" _Protego totalum!"_ she cast the area protection spell around herself, ready for anything. Or maybe she wasn't.

In a stream of chaos her shield was struck from above by a bolt of lightning. As soon as that bolt faded away another one quickly struck. If she stayed where she was much longer her shield would not make it and she would be toast, literally. With that in mind she quickly bolted, no lighting pun intended. As she ran she could feel the bolts of lightning striking only inches away from her.

" _Tornusta!"_ she heard Dedrick cast another unknown spell as she continued to run.

" _Lumos maxima!"_ she cast the light spell, hoping to blind him long enough that she could get a good shot on him.

As her blinding light filled the arena she realised it was too little too late. With the last spell Dedrick had cast he had somehow summoned a large tornado onto the platform. Right as she turned to cast her spell the tornado had gotten close enough to her that she was forced into its winds. Her world was turned into one of chaos as she was slung through the air in a large circle a countless number of times.

In a rush of speed that sent her vision spinning she was thrown from the tornado out into the air. Just as her vision began to become a little clearer everything in her sight went to a bright yellow. An enormous amount of pain, energy, and heat surged through her body as her sight became filled with the bright yellow. However, the pain, energy, and her hopes of winning quickly left her, as the yellow faded, and her vision went to black.

* * *

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	40. Book4: Chapter 3

**Harry**

" _Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Harry. Happy birthday to you!_ " Everyone inside the Potter family home's dining room finished singing in unison. Notably Sirius and Alina had gone just about as far off key as physically possible it seemed towards the end. Everyone their laughed and exchanged hugs and smiles as his birthday song ended.

"Happy birthday Harry!" his mother cried, giving him another warm hug.

"Thanks mother," he replied, returning her hug. His mom was all about birthdays and if he didn't average at least four hugs an hour today he would be in trouble, regardless of if it was his birthday or not.

"Alright, alright, calm down! Harry gets the first piece!" his father shouted, a large knife waving around in his hands as he was fighting off Sirius, Alina, and Marik with a paper plate as they all poked at his birthday cake with their forks like a pack of hungry wolves. That was a battle his father was bound to lose, especially considering how much Marik and Alina loved their sweets.

All of his friends and family had gathered together at his family's home today to celebrate his fourteenth birthday, even though his real birthday wasn't actually for another week. Today was one of the few days that everyone had been able to get together under the same roof over the summer, which in his opinion had really sucked. Today however, he couldn't help but smile as he watched everyone in the room smiling and conversing amongst each other. He always missed having times like these when he was with everyone close to him and made sure to cherish them whenever they did happen.

"Here Harry. Happy birthday again!" Hermione said as she handed him a slice of cake. Hermione sat down next to him at the dining room table and began to dive into her own slice.

"Thanks Hermione." He took the plate from her and immediately began scarfing down the cake. Nothing beat one of his mother's homemade cakes, not even the house elves at Hogwarts stood a chance.

As good as the cake was, it wasn't nearly as good as getting to see his friends was. He knew how busy they all were with getting ready for their next year at Hogwarts, but was glad that everyone had managed to find the time in their busy summer schedules to come hang out with him for the day. To be honest he had started to get a little depressed from having to be alone so much over the summer.

He had invited his friends to come over multiple times over the summer so far, but up until today it had been impossible to get anyone over. Outside of the dueling tournament, today had been the only day he had actually physically managed to see all of his friends over the summer. Hermione's family felt that they didn't get enough time with her over the school year and as a result did not let Hermione out of their reach much during the summer. Along with that, Hermione had also begun to dive head first into her spell creation time magic. From all of the letters the two of them had exchanged, he knew that practically every free minute Hermione had was being spent trying to develop and research potential new spells.

Harry certainly understood how much time spell creations work took, having watched Marik do it with his shadow magic for three years now, assisting Alina with her white light magic, and spending a lot of his own time creating his wing magic. His work on his wing magic spell creations alone had taken up half of his summer so far. Even after he finishing one of the wings at the end of the school year, developing the magic and formulas needed for summoning a second wing was even more complex, let alone being able to summon both at the same time. So it was understandable how busy Hermione was over the summer. As selfish as it may be, he was glad that she was not doing any work today though and was spending time with him.

He and Hermione certainly weren't the only two busy people this summer though. It had been impossible to get Marik to come over in between all of his dueling training sessions with Kingsley and dates with Luna. Though he was a little envious that Luna was getting to hangout with Marik so much over the summer and Harry was stuck alone with his books, he was glad that his friend seemed to still be happy with Luna. From what Marik told it him it seemed that he and Luna had really started to grow a lot closer over the summer, and Marik seemed to really like Luna a lot now. After all that had happened with Marik recently Harry was certainly ecstatic to hear that he was doing well and seemed to be happy. Again, though, today he was happy that Marik was not going on another date with Luna and had managed to make it here.

It had been difficult to even see his cousin Alina this summer. Ever since her loss in the summer dueling tournament Alina had kept to herself. Harry had exchanged letters with her a few times since then and it seemed like she had taken the loss quite hard, and was currently working, in her own words, "her ass off to make sure it never happened again."

Alina was also feeling the same pressure that he, Hermione, and Marik had felt over their last summer. Every student going into their third year was told how it was the toughest year yet, and that it was the year that things truly began to get difficult at Hogwarts. Alina knew from first hand experience from watching Hermione, Marik, and himself all last year that this was no lie and was very much the case. So Alina had been spending all of her summer lost in her school books, research, and some of their old third year notes trying to get ready for her third year. Today, though, Alina didn't look worried about her third year at all. Today it just looked like all she was worried about getting a bigger slice of cake than her father and Marik.

"What are you smiling so much for?" Hermione asked him, sprouting a smile of her own.

"I'm just happy that everyone was able to come. I was missing you and everyone else," he answered, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Aren't you just the cutest?" Alina said sarcastically as she grabbed a seat near him and Hermione.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up and eat your cake Alina!" he replied, rolling his eyes at her.

"Gladly!" Alina said, not needing to be told twice.

"Well I for one missed you and everyone else too. I was about to go crazy in France," Hermione admitted to him, smiling as she ate another slice.

"Yeah, vacation on the beaches of France must be a hard life," Marik joked as he grabbed a seat near them.

"Oh and literally doing nothing over the summer is a hard life?" Hermione argued.

"I spend my entire summer dueling with Kingsley and his auror friends and win a major european dueling tournament for the third year straight and she calls it _nothing!"_ Marik said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No talking about the tournament!" Alina shouted, stuffing a piece of cake into Marik's mouth to shut him up.

"I'm sorry that we haven't been able to get together more, you know how my parents are about spending more time with them over the summer." Hermione said apologetically.

"It's no biggie. I'm just being selfish. I get practically ten months with you over the year so I _guess_ your parents should get some time with you too," he replied. Honestly though he still felt like ten months wasn't even enough, he wanted thirteen months a year with Hermione and the rest of his friends.

"What are you doing on Wednesday Harry?" Marik asked. It seemed he had finished chewing all of the cake that had been forced down his throat moments ago by Alina.

"Just sitting in my living room reading probably, why?" he answered.

"Well Kingsley was going to take me to an auror dueling practice tournament up in Liverpool. If you want I can ask him if you can come too," Marik replied.

"Really? That would be awesome! Yeah please do," he said, excited at the prospect of getting to get out of his house and hangout with Marik. Harry was so used to spending all of his classes with Marik and the Slytherins along with their lunch breaks at school that it still felt odd not hanging out with him everyday.

"Why do the aurors having dueling tournaments?" Hermione asked Marik. Alina seemed to cringe at the word dueling.

"Kingsley says it's mainly just a way for everyone to compete and blow off some steam in a competitive way. A lot of the aurors make bets with one another and have a lot of fun with it. Even with all the goofing off and betting that happens though Kingsley said everyone there is no joke when it comes to dueling and will be something good to watch and take notes on," Marik answered, stuffing another bite of cake into his mouth.

"I'm jealous. I want to go watch!" Hermione said pouting.

"Well count me in. I'll ask my parents later, just let me know what Kingsley says," Harry told Marik. Watching aurors duel did sound interesting. Becoming an auror was a pretty tough feat, so most of them had to be pretty great duelists.

"Enough about dueling! Open your presents already Harry. I can't hold out much longer!" Alina ordered him. She seemed more excited to see what was in his gifts were than he was.

It came as no surprise to him that Alina still didn't want to discuss dueling or the summer tournament. Following her defeat to Durmstrang's champion Alina had avoided the topic like a plague. He knew that losing was tough on Alina, Hell she got furious when she lost duels in their practice sessions during the school year, but overall she had put up a really good fight in the duel; Durmstrang's champion had just put up a little better fight.

While Alina had been defeated Marik had again shined bright in the tournament this summer. Beauxbaton's champion for the third straight year, Fleur Delacour, had come into this year's tournament miles stronger than she had in the past years. Even Hermione admitted that she was unsure if she could have managed to beat Fleur again this year. Marik though handled his one duel with her with what looked like ease. Though, even if the duel had been a challenge there was no way in Hell Marik would ever admit it.

After demolishing her first two opponents easily Fleur was put on the defensive throughout her entire duel with Marik. Marik came right out of the gates firing all sorts of incredible new spells that he had learned and been practicing over the summer. Marik had already been good at dueling, however, after a summer of practicing with Kingsley and aurors Marik had become even better at dueling.

At first it honestly looked like he had been toying with Fleur, firing off just enough weak offensive spells to keep Fleur on her toes. However, in the blink of an eye Marik had defeated Fleur with one of the scariest and quickest spell chains Harry had ever seen. It still seemed that Kingsley thought Marik could get better though based off that he was still taking Marik to watch other duels and was still putting Marik through harsh training over the summer. Kingsley's summer workouts sounded rough but the more spells Marik learned over the summer with Kingsley was more spells that Harry got to learn from Marik once the school year started.

"Okay, okay, calm down! Mother!" he replied to Alina before calling out to his mother. "Alina is going to kill me if I don't open my presents soon, so can I start?" he asked his mother.

"Of course Harry, go ahead," his mother answered him with a warm smile as she snapped a photo of him and his friends at the table. Harry's eyes took a second to adjust after being blinded by the camera's flash.

"Open mine first Harry!" Alina commanded, handing him two small packages. He opened up the first package to reveal a self-cleaning owl cage enchanted device, which with it he would never have to clean Hedwig's cage again. "You don't have one already do you? I couldn't remember if you did or not but saw it and thought it was cool."

"No I don't. I never knew these existed! Hedwig will love this probably more than I will. She is always nipping at me to clean her cage more. Thanks Alina."

"Well open the second one too before you thank me," she told him and he began to open the second gift. When he finished unwrapping the present he saw that it was a gift card to _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions._ "So I got you that for two reasons, one you have been wearing the same clothes since you were born practically and are in need of some new ones, and two I figured _someone_ would like to look at you in some hot new clothes," Alina explained to him with a wink. Hermione loudly apologized, looking embarrassed next to him, as she dropped her fork to the floor.

"She means me. I would like to look at you in some _hot_ new clothes," Marik quipped sarcastically as he reached his fork over into Alina's plate and stole a bite of her cake without her noticing.

"Well thank you Alina. You will have to take me one day and show me what you think looks good," he told her, thanking her for the two gifts.

" _Or,_ you could take Hermione with you and _she_ could tell you what _she_ thinks looks good," Alina suggested, her grin this time looking a little mischievous. Again, Hermione next to him dropped her fork and apologized loudly.

"Here Harry," Marik said, breaking his concentration from the struggling Hermione trying still to pick up her fork as he handed him a gift. After thanking his friend, he opened up Marik's gift.

Marik had gifted him with a very eloquent wand holster. It was made with high grade materials and resembled the one he had seen aurors wear and an even newer version than his father's old auror holster. Wand holsters as nice as this one was were certainly expensive. Unlike the normal auror blue that he was used to seeing this holster had been dyed gold and crimson, Gryffindor colors.

"It is the same new model that the aurors use. Kingsley gave me two of them but that one was ugly Gryffindor colors so I figured you would like it more. I carved a few runes into it too," Marik told him and sure enough as he turned the holster around in his hand he could see rune markings on it, though, he had no idea what any of the rune designs meant or did yet.

"What are the runes for?" he asked Marik, examining the holster more closely in his hands.

"One is a stealth charm, so the common person won't be able to see it when you are wearing it. Detectors can still pick it up though and if any decent wizard or witch stares at it long enough they will be able to make it out. The other two are fairly simple runes and you can add more advanced runes in their place if you want. One is just a quickdraw enchant that makes it snap into your hand quicker, so whenever you need your wand it is almost instantaneous, and the other is anti-rash charm," Marik answered him smiling at the last part.

"Anti rash charm?" Hermione asked Marik. Harry was wondering the same thing.

"Kingsley said a lot of the new recruits get rashes from the material and aren't used to having something like a holster rub against their skin twenty-four seven. I learned the hard way," Marik said, pulling up the sleeve of his right arm revealing a patch of irritated skin on his wrist. He, Hermione, and Alina laughed at the sight.

"Well thank you Marik for the gift, and for looking out for my health," he said still laughing. It really was a cool gift that would come in handy, he would certainly put it to good use.

"I'm jealous of that! Tell Kingsley to get me one too!" Alina said as she stole the wand holster out from his hands and started putting it on to test out.

"Okay Harry, my turn," Hermione said as she handed him a gift. He noted her fork had found its way back to the table.

He took the medium sized package from her and slowly opened it. He had learned from experience that Hermione hated when people ripped her wrapping paper up like an animal. As he got to the contents of the package he was still unsure of exactly what it was as he looked it over.

"Err, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at here Hermione."

"It is a pocket pensieve Harry. It isn't as good as a normal pensieve is, but this one can still store around five or six shorter memories," Hermione explained to him, even without making eye contact with her he could feel that she was nervous that he did not like the gift.

"This is so cool! I thought pensieves were super rare?" he asked her, excited to test the pensive out. He had only read about them a few times and never actually used one before.

"The normal ones that can store infinite memories in them are. These are still fairly rare too though. I found it in a shop in Paris and just had to buy it," Hermione answered him. It was very clear that Hermione had put a lot of time, money, and effort into his present this year. He honestly would have been content if Hermione had given him an old sock, but this was incredible! He would have to step up his present game this year that was for sure.

"This is amazing Hermione, I love it. Thank you so much!" he bent over to her chair next to him and gave her a hug, thanking her for the gift.

"Now you two just need to _make_ a _good_ memory so Harry can watch it _over_ and _over_ again," Marik said playfully to them. Hermione's fork had again found its way to the floor as Alina did a spit take with the water she was drinking before she high-fived Marik across the table. Harry tried to hide his blushing face too.

Altogether, he ended up getting a lot of great gifts for his birthday this year. The Weasley twins, who he had kept up correspondence with over the summer, had sent him a goody bag of some of the beta versions of their newest products for him to test out. Most of them looked a little too dangerous to set off in his house, but Sirius found the twins' forever-farting-ferret to be the funniest thing he had ever seen in his life, or so he claimed.

Speaking of his uncle, Sirius had gifted him with an enchanted shirt to wear once a month when he turned into his _animagus_ form. Apparently the shirt was enchanted to keep off fleas, which Harry had learned very quickly were in fact quite the problem in the _animagus_ world. Remus had thought it was funny to gift Harry a book on Red Caps, which no one else understood why they both found that funny. Even if Red Caps were not the most interesting of creatures, Harry always cherished a good book and thanked Remus multiple times for the gift. He would certainly still read it, err, that is after Hermione returned it to him when she had finished reading it first.

His parents gave him his final gifts of the night. The first was a new brown satchel for school, which thankfully had been enchanted with an assortment of charms that his old bag had not had. His parents also gave him a few of the new books he had asked for during their last trip to Diagon Alley, plus, a large box of chocolate frogs, which everyone knew were his favorite. As he admired the pile of presents before him he thought altogether that this had been one of his better birthdays.

"Happy birthday Harry!" a new voice said from the doorway of the dining room. He turned to see his Professor McGonagall standing there.

"Minerva you made it," his mother said as she walked over to McGonagall and gave her a hug. No matter how many times he saw it, it was still so weird to see them hugging. Professor McGonagall definitely did not look like a hug-me type of person.

"Of course, and I brought some _gifts_ of my own," she said holding out four letters in her hands.

"Are t-t-those?" Hermione shouted. The mood in the room had darkened as they all looked at McGonagall.

"Yes Miss Granger, though I'm afraid looking at the other gifts here I can see that these may not be as good," McGonagall answered with a creepy smile that did not fit her at all.

After a few seconds of silence all four of them burst out from their chairs and grabbed the letters from McGonagall, who just laughed at their reactions. After having to fight each other for a brief moment to get their own letters they all sat down nervously, did a quick prayer to the magic gods, and opened up their letters.

 _Harry Potter,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Third year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _2_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _2_

 _Transfiguration:_ _M_ _1_

 _Potions:_ _O_ _3_

 _Dark Arts:_ _O_ _2_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _5_

 _Spell Creation:_ _O_ _3_

 _Care of Magical Creatures M_ _1_

 _Astronomy_ _M_ _1_

 _Overall Student Rank: 2_

 _Based off your grade report you will be allowed to continue your education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as advance to Fourth year courses in all of your previous classes. You will also receive special recognition during the Opening Ceremony due to your performance, grades, and class ranking. Further information will be given to you during the opening ceremony. Well done on again earning outstanding marks to go along with an outstanding rank._

 _Your current Fourth year class schedule can be found on the second paper in this letter. A list of all the required third year supplies has also been added. I and the rest of the Hogwarts staff congratulate you and look forward to seeing you again for your fourth year._

 _P.s._

 _Great job Harry. I am proud of the work I have seen you put in, and even prouder of the magic and results you have achieved. I hope you continue to impress._

 _Your Head of House,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

"Well?" his mother asked him, breaking the silence in the room.

He lifted his head up from his letter to look at her. Along the way he saw that his friends' faces all looked much like his. Hermione's skin was pale and her eyes were wide, as if she was seeing a ghost, Alina was shaking, and Marik looked like he was about to explode. He handed his mother the letter, still rendered speechless. He had somehow managed to get straight ' _O_ ' and ' _M_ ' marks. If that wasn't unbelievable enough he had managed to somehow get three ' _M_ ' marks _and_ rank two in his year.

"Harry these are amazing! I so proud of you! James look at this." his mother said, giving him a hug as she handed the letter over to his father.

"Wow Harry. I would have dreamed for marks like this when I was in school! Well done son!" his father added, giving him a hug after his mother finished. Harry sat like stone as they both hugged him, still a little in shock.

"Give me that!" Hermione shouted and stole the letter from his father, who was looking at Hermione like she was crazy. Which, when it came to grades, she probably was a little. As Hermione looked over his report he took her sheet from the table and scanned it over.

 _Hermione Granger,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Third year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _M_ _1_

 _Charms:_ _M_ _1_

 _Transfiguration:_ _O_ _2_

 _Potions:_ _M_ _1_

 _Dark Arts:_ _O_ _4_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _4_

 _Spell Creation:_ _M_ _1_

 _Care of Magical Creatures O_ _2_

 _Ancient Runes_ _O_ _3_

 _Overall Student Rank: 1_

"Hermione these marks are incredible! You got number one ranked two years in a row!" he declared as he wrapped her in a hug. Incredible really wasn't a good enough word to describe how good Hermione's grades were, mental would have probably been a better choice of words. Hermione had managed to get ranked in the top five in nine classes, and if that wasn't insane enough on its own she had received the ' _M_ ' rank in four out of her nine classes.

"Your grades are amazing too Harry! Congratulations on getting number two, and on three ' _M_ ' marks!" Hermione told him, returning his hug.

"You both are dead to me," Marik said, stealing their grade sheets from them and tossing his onto the table. Hermione quickly grabbed it and he looked over her shoulder to take a look at Marik's marks.

 _Marik Ose,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Third year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _3_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _3_

 _Transfiguration:_ _O_ _3_

 _Potions:_ _O_ _4_

 _Dark Arts:_ _M_ _1_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _2_

 _Spell Creation:_ _O_ _2_

 _Ancient Runes_ _M_ _1_

 _Overall Student Rank: 3_

"What are you so mad about Marik? Your marks are great too!" Harry asked Marik, who only looked more pissed as he looked over their marks.

"I lost my number one ranks in charms and in spell creation! Plus I went from number one in my first year to number two my second year now down to number three!" Marik answered, his head landing on the table with a thud as he complained.

"Oh stop it Marik, you did great," Hermione said to him, she didn't look upset at all that she had taken those spots and rankings from Marik.

"And we all knew with Hermione's rocket-scientist-like work on her spell creation project that none of us stood a chance," Harry answered truthfully. Marik just groaned from his spot on the table. After a few seconds they all turned their heads to Alina, who had just been sitting their quietly.

"Cough them up!" Hermione shouted, and Alina quickly passed her letter over to Hermione. He and Marik both looked over her shoulders at Alina's report.

 _Alina Black,_

 _Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Second year End of Term Grade Report_

 _Class_ _Grade_ _Class Rank_

 _History of Magic:_ _O_ _3_

 _Charms:_ _O_ _2_

 _Transfiguration:_ _M_ _1_

 _Potions:_ _O_ _2_

 _Dark Arts:_ _M_ _1_

 _Herbology:_ _O_ _3_

 _Spell Creation:_ _M_ _1_

 _Overall Student Rank: 1_

"Congratulations Alina!" Marik was the first to say.

"Isn't she the best?" Harry heard Sirius add from behind them.

"Two years in a row at the top!" Harry congratulated her.

"I'm proud of you Alina," Hermione said, and Alina was barraged with hugs from all three of them.

"Thanks guys. Although I have heard nonstop from you that third year is where things start to get tough. So this isn't that big a deal," Alina said, sporting a little blush.

"Oh yeah you're screwed this year mate," Marik joked.

"Yeah, kiss your number one spot goodbye,"Hermione added.

'She was such a nice girl too," Harry said, shaking his head.

"That isn't funny you guys!" Alina shouted and proceeded to hit all of them. After recovering from Alina fists, he, Hermione, Marik, and Alina all just started to laugh, and shortly everyone else in the room joined in. It felt good to have everyone back together, laughing and joking with each other. This how things were supposed to be, this was the greatest gift his friends could give him. Happy birthday to him.

* * *

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	41. Book4: Chapter 4

**Hermione**

Hermione scanned the teacher's table as they found an open spot at the Ravenclaw table. Tiny little Professor Flitwick was sitting on a large pile of cushions beside Professor Sprout, the herbology teacher, whose hat was askew over her flyaway gray hair. She was talking to Professor Sinistra of the astronomy department. On Professor Sinistra's other side was Professor Snape, who looked like he would much rather be anywhere in the world beside here right now.

On Snape's other side was an empty seat where Professor McGonagall usually sat. Next to it, and in the very center of the table, sat Headmaster Dumbledore, his sweeping silver hair and beard shining in the candlelight, his deep green robes embroidered with many stars and moons.

The tips of Dumbledore's long, thin fingers were together and he was resting his chin upon them, staring up at the ceiling through his half-moon spectacles as though lost in thought. Hermione glanced up at the ceiling too. It was enchanted to look like the night sky as normal and tonight the sky was stormy. Black and purple clouds were swirling across it, and as another thunderclap sounded outside, a fork of lightning flashed across it.

"I'm so freaking hungry!" Marik moaned, sitting beside Luna across the table from her.

"Stop whining Marik. I offered you my sandwich on the Express and you told me you weren't hungry!" Luna argued, shutting Marik up. Hermione was already starting to like Luna more and more.

As the words left Luna's mouth the doors of the Great Hall opened and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the hall as per usual. At the front of the Hall, Professor McGonagall now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first years. On top of the stool after a few moments of silence, an old, dirty, patched Hat appeared. The first years all stared at the Hat, their mouths agape, and waited for the Hat to sing its song.

 _Once a year I wake up,_

 _So that I can sit upon your head,_

 _And tell you the house that you belong in,_

 _And diminish all your dread._

 _Occasionally though I wake up,_

 _With something in my mind,_

 _And tonight I wish to tell you,_

 _That many of you are blind._

 _Tho I put you in different houses,_

 _You all are still only one,_

 _And no matter the trouble, time, or situation_

 _It's always been about having fun._

 _In life your brim will bend,_

 _And your bonds will sometimes break,_

 _But promise that you heed my warning,_

 _That something greater is at stake._

 _You must remember friendship,_

 _Will always be the best,_

 _It doesn't matter what house you're in,_

 _True friendship defeats all tests._

 _So no matter where you're sorted_

 _Whether it be in the past or here today._

 _Remember that the bonds of friendship,_

 _Like my fabric must never fray,_

The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished.

"Well that was a sweet message," she commented as the applause began to die down.

"Screw friends," Marik joked, earning a glare from everyone at the table.

"Well it's a good thing you don't have any friends then," Harry replied sarcastically.

"I liked that song! Last year's was too long," Alina added.

"I like the long songs!" she tried to argue.

"I like food!" Marik again brought up that he was hungry.

"Shut up!" They all seemed to say in unison.

Professor McGonagall was now unrolling a large scroll of parchment as the Hall waited in silence.

"When I call out your name, you will put on the Hat and sit on the stool," she told the first years. "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table.

"Ackerley, Stewart!"

"Wanna make a bet about who gets the most first years this year?" Alina whispered to the table as a small boy walked forwards, visibly trembling from head to foot, picked up the Sorting Hat, put it on, and sat down on the stool.

"Gryffindor has received the most first years for three years in a row. It's no contest," Harry whispered.

"That's only because Gryffindor's quality is being brave. Anyone can be brave!" Alina argued.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the Hat.

"One for Ravenclaw. I'll take that bet now," she whispered to Alina.

"No fair!" Alina replied.

"Not everyone can be brave by the way! What is so much better about being a Hufflepuff?" Harry asked. A few seats down from their spot on the Ravenclaw table everyone was applauding the girl who was taking her seat there for the first time.

"Baddock, Malcolm!"

"Well it's not Slytherin." Alina answered.

"Good point." Harry seemed satisfied enough with that answer.

"Why do they all look so nervous? We weren't that nervous back then," she said out loud, not really asking anyone in particular.

"I didn't have time to be nervous with you chewing my ear off the whole time," Marik replied. She stuck out her tongue at him. He had talked just as much as she had during their Sorting.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"I'll take that bet now too," Marik added, to an annoyed looking Alina.

The rest of the sorting went on fairly quickly from that point forward. And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin!" ("Hufflepuff!"), the Sorting ended. Professor McGonagall picked up the Hat and the stool and carried them away. Professor Flitwick had gotten to his feet. He was smiling at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.

"Thank god," Alina said as her stomach growled loudly.

"Oh no one yells at her when she complains," Marik announced, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shh Marik!" Luna said. Another brownie point for Luna.

"Congratulations to all of our new first years. We wish you all good luck! Before we begin the feast we will begin the Special Recognition Award Ceremony. I will be announcing last year's, first year honors," Professor Flitwick announced to the Hall.

"So do you think you will end up with anymore private lessons this year Hermione?" Harry asked her as Professor Flitwick read off the first few Master ranks.

"I sure hope so. Though I don't know if Yarnsley will give me private lessons or not. He is impossible to read," she answered.

To be honest the thought of private lessons had been a topic she had been worrying a lot about towards the latter half of the summer. She was desperately hoping that Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick would continue giving her lessons in charms and potions, after all she had learned at least ten times more in those lessons than in her normal classes.

This year she had also managed to get an ' _M'_ mark in spell creations for the first time ever too though. Professor Yarnsley and her had discussed her time magic creations a few times over the course of the year but he had never seemed that interested in it. Though it was common for Master ranked students to get private lessons in their master courses it was never a certainty. After all, she had been ranked number one in history of magic now for three years and had never even heard so much as a whisper from Professor Binns.

"I bet Yarnsley will. He is a snub to people until they prove they're good. He did the same for me all of first year. Last year though he was awesome," Marik replied, helping her to feel a little better.

"All I want is more dueling lessons with Flitwick. He better not stop giving them to me just because of one stupid freaking loss," Alina added, the usual venom in her voice that had become a constant whenever the summer tournament was brought up. Hermione could relate to that feeling.

"Speaking of the tournament, has _he_ written you recently?" she asked Alina, trying to be discreet.

"Who is _he_?" Marik asked her, looking curious.

"Yes Hermione! My _Dad_ has written me recently," Alina said, almost shouting as Flitwick wrapped up the last few first year honors. Alina was looking frantically around the table, looking pale as if she had seen a ghost.

"Why is your dad writing you? You live with the guy?" Harry asked Alina, and Alina again was looking nervous.

"Alina, Luna you guys are about to be up," she said, changing the conversation before Alina freaked out anymore.

Over the summer, only a few days after the summer tournament, Alina had received an owl all the way from Germany. The letter had been from the boy named Dedrick, who had been the one to beat Alina in the tournament. Apparently, the two of them had talked a little before the tournament and Alina thought enough about the guy to reply to his owl. From the few words she was able to pry from Alina she had learned that they had exchanged quite a few owls over the summer.

What that meant and what Alina really thought about Dedrick, Hermione still had no idea. Regardless, after the emotional roller coaster Alina had been on last year, Hermione was just happy to see her friend looking happy. That was the same reason she was being supportive and doing her best to get to know Luna better for Marik.

From Marik's letters over the summer it seemed like he and Luna had spent more days together than not. They seemed to have grown really close since they started dating last year and the two of them on the Express ride appeared to be like two peas in a pod. Marik looked happy and Luna looked even happier to be with one another. As bad as a year as Mari had had last year as well it made her happy to see Marik smiling and making jokes again. Luna wasn't hard to like either. Even Alina had come around with the girl, a little that is.

"I will be announcing last year's second year honors," Professor Snape announced into the Hall, breaking off their conversation. Professor Snape did look happy to have to be giving out any honors.

"Will Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Alina Black please come up to the front of the Hall," Snape announced.

"Congratulations again!" she whispered as Alina and Luna stood up next to her.

"Good Luck!" Marik said, with a kiss to Luna as she headed towards the front of the Hall.

"Do you want a kiss cuz?" Harry joked to Alina.

"Shut up Harry! I don't, but I bet _Hermione_ would like one." Alina gave her a wink as she bolted to the front of the hall behind Luna. Hermione did not let her eyes wander to Harry's and instead forced herself to look at Snape. She could already feel a blush in her cheeks and wanted to avoid any further blushing.

"First we would like to honor Ginny Weasley, for ranking third in her year, and achieving Master rankings in history of magic and charms." Snape looked like he wanted to keep going and just get this all over with as soon as possible, but was interrupted by the loud applause of the Gryffindor table.

"Next we would like to honor Luna Lovegood, for ranking second in her year, and achieving Master rankings in potions, herbology, and astronomy." This time they all rose to their feet as the Ravenclaw table stood up to cheer Luna.

"Lastly, we would like to honor Alina Black, for ranking number one in her year, and achieving master rankings in transfiguration, dark arts, and spell creation. Congratulations to you all." They all again stood up to cheer for Alina along with the Hufflepuff table. Snape had already made his way back to the teacher's table and found his seat by the time the applause died down.

"Guys what the fuck?" Alina asked, looking worried and a little upset.

"What?" Harry asked, apparently just as confused as Hermione was.

"He didn't announce a single private lessons to any of us. Not me, Luna, or Ginny," Alina pointed out. Hermione had not noticed, but Alina was right.

"Snape was just trying to speed through things. They are probably going to tell you after don't worry," Marik said.

"I don't think so," Luna quickly said. "None of the first years were told about private lessons either."

"Do you think they're no longer giving private lessons?" she asked, obvious panic in her voice. She hoped to Merlin that this was not the case.

"I don't know. We don't have time to worry about it now though. We're up," Harry answered her. Professor Sprout had made her way down to the center of the Hall to announce their year's honors. Hermione perked up a little, this was one of her favorite parts of the year.

"Congratulations to everyone that has received honors so far! I hope that your names will continue to be called in further years! Now, I will be announcing last year's third year honors. I would like for Neville Longbottom, Marik Ose, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger to please come up to the front of the Hall," Professor Sprout announced.

"Congratulations you guys!" Alina gave them all hugs as they stood up and turned to the front of the Hall. She followed closely behind Harry as their group approached where Professor Sprout and now Neville were standing.

"First I would like to honor Neville Longbottom on achieving the Master rank in herbology! Please give him a round of applause." The Hall followed the professor's orders and applauded for the pale looking Gryffindor boy.

Hermione started to get a little nervous following the applause. Neville was not the best student at Hogwarts but since first year there had been no doubts among the school that Neville was one of the best herbology students ever. He had received private lessons in herbology since the end of his first year. This year, however, yet again no announcements of private lessons were made.

 _Were they really all not getting private lessons this year?_ She began to internally panic.

"Next I would like to honor Marik Ose, for achieving the third overall rank for his year, and for earning Master ranks in dark arts and ancient runes. Please give him a round of applause." Hermione laughed a little at Marik's reaction. When normally one should be proud of such high praises Marik looked more annoyed than anything. He had still not let up any for her beating him two years in a row and for losing his Master rank in charms and spell creation. She still didn't feel bad about it though.

"Next I would like to honor Harry Potter, for achieving the second overall rank for his year, and for earning Master ranks in transfiguration, care of magical creatures, and astronomy. Please give him a round of applause!" The Gryffindor section of the Hall rose to their feet to applaud Harry. She gave him a warm bear hug following the announcement, hoping it would express how truly proud of him she was.

"Lastly I would like to honor Hermione Granger. Hermione was the number one ranked student in her year, and earned Master ranks in history of magic, charms, and spell creation. Please give Hermione a well deserved round of applause!" If anyone in the Hall had cheered for her she was unaware. As soon as Professor Sprout finished her announcement Harry had Hermione engulfed in a hug so tight it took her off her feet. Loud whistles echoed across the Hall and she had to do her best to hide the redness in her cheeks as Harry broke off the hug.

Professor Sprout seemed to be done with their year's honors and had begun to make her way back to her seat behind the teacher's table. Hermione, again feeling nervous and upset, made her way back to the Ravenclaw tables. No private lessons had been announced for their year either! _What the hell was going on!_

As Hermione sat down she looked up the front of the Hall, anxious to see if anyone in the years above them received private lessons. Maybe they were just doing it different this year. However, no one in any of the years above them got the announcement either. It certainly seemed like no one at Hogwarts this year would be receiving private lessons, which to say the least, fucking sucked!

In all of her frustration she had missed Dumbledore walking to the podium.

"I only have two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the hall. "Tuck in _,"_ and they all did as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes.

"So what the actual fuck!" she huffed, breaking the silence and putting no attempt to hide her annoyance. A new first year Ravenclaw a few chairs down from them looked at her scared.

"Marik stop stealing my damn butter!" Alina shouted across the table, apparently ignoring Hermione's conversation.

"We still don't know that they are all canceled this year Hermione, just relax for now." Harry tried to calm her down.

"Yeah, I guess you are right," she said, not really wanting to believe her own words.

"You know what. I bet this has something to do with why Kingsley picked up the intensity of my training the last two weeks of summer," Marik said, stuffing a roll into his mouth in the process.

"Marik you told me every single day of the summer that Kingsley was picking up the intensity of your training," Luna argued.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but get this. So Kingsley gets an owl from Hogwarts one day right, then he floos off to the castle for the whole day and comes back late at night. I was supposed to be off the next two days and had already made plans to go to Diagon Alley with Luna. He says the next morning though that we have to pick up the pace with our training and makes me cancels all our plans. He even booked two practice sessions with an old dueling partner the next week," Marik explained.

"So sorry you missed your date with Luna. No offense Luna," Alina said sarcastically. Hermione wasn't really sure Alina meant _no offense,_ From Luna's expression she didn't seem to care whether Alina had meant her words or not.

"Why are you just now telling us this? Did he say anything else?" she asked him, hopeful that maybe there was some answer to why no one was getting private lessons.

"Nah, he just kept telling me it was because I sucked and needed more work," Marik answered her.

"Can't really argue with that," Harry added.

"Sounds like a good point to me," Alina added.

"Haha! But I bet it means something is up this year. I know I don't have any dueling tournament stuff anytime soon so it can't be anything with that. Only leaves something here at Hogwarts," Marik said, adding another roll to his plate.

"Have you heard anything Luna?" Harry asked Luna, who had opened a book and started to read.

"I haven't no. It may have something to do with this though," Luna answered.

"With what?" she asked, not understanding what her fellow Ravenclaw meant.

"Look," Luna said again, this time pointing at the front of the Hall. Dumbledore had risen from his chair and made his way back up to the podium.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at everyone in the Hall. The Hall quieted down, everyone confused on if they were supposed to stop eating or not. "Please continue eating, I only ask that you give me your ears as you do so. This year I have a few _extra_ announcements to make, so to keep you all from being out past curfew I will make them now.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office; or if anyone has any further questions you can ask our very own Weasley Twins." Dumbledore finished his first notice and smiled as he looked directly at the twins, who were both on the floor laughing at the announcement. She was willing to bet almost all of the forbidden items were related to them in some way or form.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." A bunch of gasps could be heard throughout the Hall following Dumbledore's announcement. She couldn't care less about the Quidditch Cup though and even felt a yawn overcome her at the mention of the sport. Dumbledore ignored the groans and debate and continued on.

"Some of you may also have noted that no private lessons will be given this year either." Hermione's heart sank down to her chest as Dumbledore confirmed her fears. This was the worst day ever!

"This is all due to a great event that will be starting in just a few weeks, and continuing throughout the entire school year, taking up much of the professors' time and energy-but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. This year, Durmstrang Institute, will have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for quite some time. It is my pleasure to inform you that the Triwizards' Tournament will be taking place at Durmstrang Institute this year, and Hogwarts will be participating."

"You're JOKING!" one of the Weasley twins shouted loudly. Nearly everyone in the hall laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. Hermione didn't laugh. She had never heard of a Triwizards' Tournament before. And if it was anything as boring as Quidditch was she was even more pissed that it was the reason her private lessons were cancelled this year.

"I am _not_ joking, Mr. Weasley," he said. "Though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar. . ."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er - but maybe this is not the time. . . Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizards Tournament. Well, some of of you will not know what this tournament involves so I hope those who _do_ know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander back to their food.

"The Triwizards Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons Academy, and Durmstrang Institute. Three Champions were selected to represent each school, and the nine champions competed in three magical tasks throughout the school year.

"The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities. Due to political differences and the emergence of new Headmaster's at the schools the tournament was postponed for quite some time. However, the European departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt.

"The Triwizards' Tournament has earned the reputation of being one of the most difficult, demanding, and rewarding challenges a student can face in their school years. There are very few honors in the magical world that are higher and more glorifying than being declared a Triwizard Champion. So as you can imagine, becoming a Triwizard Champion is no easy matter.

"In the tournament there will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways. Their magical prowess-their daring-their powers of deduction-and, of course their ability to cope with danger will all be tested throughout the tasks.

"As I have said before, three champions from each school will compete in the tournament. They will be marked on how they perform each of the tournament's tasks and the school with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizards' Cup. The three champions from each school are to be chosen by an impartial judge: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times into the air. Out of nowhere a large platform formed at the front of the Great Hall. On top of the platform a large, roughly hewn wooden cup formed from the air. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

"Well that was a little anti-climatic. When he said Goblet of Fire I imagined like an Olympic torch or something, not literally a goblet with fire in it," Harry whispered as the flames in the Goblet grew. Hermione's eyes were stuck on the Headmaster, her curiosity growing by the second. She desperately wanted to run to the library to look for books on the tournament and find out what sort of tasks would take place in the tournament, and why it was such a big event.

"Being chosen as a champion for your school is not to be taken lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the very end as your name being chosen by the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract.

"However, those chosen by the goblet should feel a sense of pride, honor, and accomplishment. The Goblet of Fire takes all aspects of a person and their magic when making its decisions. Only those who posses the greatest knowledge, cunningness, bravery, and abilities needed to win the tournament will be chosen.

"The three champions chosen by the goblet to represent Hogwarts will not only be chosen because they have been deemed as the best individually to win the tournament, but also because they have been deemed to be the best group as a whole. Thus, meaning only the three witches or wizards at Hogwarts who as a group have the best possible pairings of magic, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses will be chosen to partake.

"Since Durmstrang Institute will be the school hosting this tournament and all events during the tournament will be held at the school, there will be changes for many of you this school year.

"The three champions chosen, along with the top six ranked students of each year will be conducting all of your classes at Durmstrang instead of at Hogwarts during this year. Whilst you are there you will continue with your normal school schedules and will be integrated into the appropriate classes at Durmstrang. I should not have to state that your best behavior is expected while you are guests there," Dumbledore announced, and this time everyone at her table was looking at each other.

Everyone of them at their spot on the Ravenclaw table was in the top six for their years, including Luna. That meant that all of them would be attending Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts this year for classes. She was finding it difficult to comprehend what the Headmaster was saying and most of it seemed to be happening so fast. One second she was talking about her friends about how excited they were for classes this year, the next second their Headmaster is telling them they will be taking classes in not only another school, but a whole nother country!

While she had certainly read a lot about other wizarding schools in Europe the majority of her focus had always been on Hogwarts, which she had always read was the best wizarding school in all of Europe. Still taken aback by the _huge_ announcement her eyes immediately turned to Alinas', wondering if the boy Alina was talking to from Durmstrang had warned her about this.

"More information about everything will be given to those of you who will be making the journey to Durmstrang for the year tomorrow morning. Now, without wasting anymore time I would like to announce the start of the Triwizards' Tournament!" The teachers all stood up to give a round of applause at the Headmaster's announcement, but none of the students budged. All of them were still in a state of shock from this bombardment of news.

 _Tomorrow morning? They would be freaking leaving tomorrow morning! That was too soon!_

"Hogwart's three champions will now be chosen by the Goblet of Fire!"All eyes, including hers, locked onto the Goblet. Everything the Headmaster was announcing was all happening so fast, it was impossible for her to fully grasp anything.

 _They were already announcing the names?_

The food on her plate would be getting left untouched tonight. This was all happening so fast and was so much to take in that it had spoiled her appetite.

The large goblet began spewing huge bouts of blue and white fire following the end of the Headmaster's speech. The entire Hall went silent in anticipation as everyone awaited whatever was going to happen next. After a few minutes the flames grew even larger, and brighter than they had been before.

As the peaks of the flame had extended to grow three times from their original size three beams of light were shot forth into the air, illuminating the Hall in a brilliant white-blue light. At the end of the beams Hermione could make out three pieces of parchment falling into the Headmaster's hands. Dumbledore held the piece of parchments at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned to black and red. Dumbledore cleared his throat and red the names out. Everyone in the Hall waited with baited breath.

"The three champions representing Hogwarts in this year's Triwizards' Tournament will be. . ." You could hear every heartbeat in the Hall echoing off the walls as everyone there waited, stunned and anxious. Hermione swallowed loudly in anticipation.

"Harry Potter!"

"W-What?" Harry spluttered.

"Marik Ose!" Dumbledore continued reading the names off the parchments in his hand.

"Seriously?" Marik dropped his fork to his plate with a look of disbelief.

"And Hermione Granger!" Dumbledore finished announcing names and Alina, Luna, and all of the students around them began cheering loudly as they all rose to their feet.

 _What? What the Hell?_ Was the only thought that came to her mind as she was pulled up to her feet and guided to the front of the Hall by a stream of students and professors. In one day this school year had already plunged into chaos.

 _What the actual fuck!_

* * *

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	42. Book4: Chapter 5

**Marik**

His body began to twist and turn as the portkey contorted his body through a tunnel the size of a galleon. Just as his body was starting to get used to the ever-awkward feeling, the sensation came to an end and the world around him began to slow. Focusing all of his attention towards his feet he slowed his descent enough so that he could land gracefully and softly. He laughed quietly as he watched one of the second years land about as smoothly as a pigeon with no legs. The poor bloke fell chaotically and was now currently lying face first in a patch of dirt. The last few blurry spots from the effects of the portkey left his vision as the destination before them came into view.

"Wow. . ." he found himself saying involuntarily. Durmstrang Institute was huge! Probably just as big as Hogwarts, if not even larger. It was definitely taller than Hogwarts was that was for sure. His head turned on a swivel as he attempted to take a look at the rest of the area around where they had portkeyed.

From atop of whatever hill they were currently on it seemed as if you could see across the entirety of the German countryside. All around them were small villages, green rolling hills, and roaming blue rivers stretching in between the hills and towns dotted around the landscape. The view looked almost like the type of scene one sees in a movie. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold, and he could feel the magic in him swelling at the sight of seeing the German castle for the first time; just as it had done on the lake during his first trip to Hogwarts. In front of them, on what appeared to be the largest hill in the seeable area, was the school they had come for.

Durmstrang stood towering above everything else on the landscape, unmissable to any magical eye on the horizon. The castle had large grey bricks that made up its walls and an even darker roof sitting atop the tall castle walls. Outside of the castle was a immense white brick stone wall, that circled the entire castle grounds. Dark black-stained windows were strewn every so many feet along the walls, similar to those at Hogwarts. While Durmstrang did not have as manytowers as Hogwarts did, the few towers the castle did have were much taller, reaching far up into the clouds above them.

The castle looked much more like a medieval castle, ready to defend itself from an attack from a rival house, than it did a school for wizarding. Hogwarts always gave a warm, welcoming sort of feeling each time Marik laid eyes on the school; Durmstrang, however, gave off a much more serious sort of tone. Still, the school looked incredible, and if it was half as amazing on the inside as it was on the outside they were all in for a treat.

"It is quite beautiful, and yet ominous at the same time isn't it?" Luna chimed from beside him.

"Yeah, it is. I don't know why, but I was expecting the school to be much smaller. I always read that Hogwarts was the biggest in Europe, but it doesn't look like it is by that much now," he replied, still in awe at the sight before them. It was always a good feeling to be awestruck by magic.

"Alright, it appears the last few stragglers have arrived. Everyone gather round now," Dumbledore requested and the thirty or so odd students who had made the trek here gathered around the Headmaster. "I have a few last minute words I would like to share with you all before we enter into Durmstrang. First, I will again stress the point that it is of utmost importance that everyone remembers that we are guests here, and that if I get any word of one of my students misbehaving. . ." Dumbledore didn't finish his sentence but instead just let the words linger. Everyone got his point, and no one there was dumb enough to mess with Dumbledore.

"We will be entering the castle shortly. When we enter we will make our way to the dining hall. During dinner a few more words will be spoken on the tournament and after dinner you will be divided into smaller groups and given a quick tour of the castle. Champions," Dumbledore looked at Hermione, Harry, and himself. The word champion still had no real meaning behind it to him and it still didn't feel like this was real. It still felt like a crazy dream that _they,_ of all people, had been chosen by the Goblet of fire to be Hogwart's Triwizards' Champions. He had to reassure himself that Dumbledore was in fact talking to them.

"As per tradition, you three will be the last three to enter the hall. You will follow Kingsley when he enters. Now let us all go." Dumbledore started off towards the castle and a train of his fellow Hogwarts students followed.

"Why do we have to enter last?" Hermione asked Kingsley as the rest of the group headed off.

"It is a tradition of the Triwizards' Tournament. This tradition is just a way to mark your status above the other students coming from Hogwarts," Kingsley answered her.

"What do you mean _above_ the other students? Most of them are in grades above us," Harry asked.

"But none of _them_ are Triwizard Champions. You three are. Dumbledore was not exaggerating when he said it is an extreme honor to be chosen by the Goblet of Fire as a Triwizard Champion. It truly sets you above the others of your class and you should be recognized for that. Now follow me," Kingsley answered Harry and led them towards the castle. It was a fairly short walk to the front gate of the castle and at the slow pace they were traveling it allowed Marik to observe more of the castle around them.

Inside of the gate and the large outer wall, the grounds of Durmstrang looked much like Hogwart's grounds, minus the large lake and whomping willow. Up on top of the hill that they were on the air was crisp, allowing them all to see traces of their breath as they marched. The grounds here were covered with large oak trees, a few of which had leaves that were already changing their colors. In between the trees there was nothing but shaded grass that all looked like fantastic relaxing spots to sit and read a book. As they arrived to the front door to the castle, Kingsley waved for them to wait briefly while the rest of the Hogwarts students entered.

"I will pay you fifty galleons to trip Harry when we walk in," he whispered to Hermione as they waited impatiently. He let his eyes wander over to the two large doors leading into the hall. Two large red phoenix's were carved into the wood of the doors, both of which looked much more intimidating than the phoenix he had seen in his visit to Dumbledore's office.

"I heard that!" Harry shouted.

Kingsley motioned for them to enter, and slowly they made their way through the entrance hall of the castle and into the larger dining area.

Durmstrang's dining hall resembled the Great Hall at Hogwarts in many ways. Hundreds of glowing red candles were enchanted to hover above the six long tables that ran through the hall. Huge stained windows lined the sides of the hall, allowing student's sight outside onto the beautiful German landscape. The ceiling was about the only major difference between Durmstrang's dining hall and Hogwart's Great Hall. Instead of an enchanted ceiling that showed a live feed of the sky above, Durmstrang's ceiling was just stone and wooden beams.

Following Kingsley's lead, the three of them walked at a slow pace down the center aisle of the hall. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and his friends as they marched on slowly. The feeling of everyone's eyes watching him didn't bother him in the least bit though. Each of the summer dueling tournaments had had audiences fifty times larger than this. If anything he liked the extra attention, he liked people knowing that he was the best. Plus, the extra attention always seemed to make him grin. Slowly still they made their way past the last few seats and arrived at the teacher's podium at the front of the hall. There they shook hands with the three Headmasters, one from each school. He was surprised his hand didn't break when as shook Beauxbatons Academy Headmaster's hand. She was certainly a giant, literally, and made even Hagrid look like a midget in comparison.

After introducing themselves and shaking the Headmasters' hands they followed Kingsley over to where the rest of the Hogwart's section was seated. The found a seat next to Alina Luna and made themselves comfy as the attention of the hall left them.

"Is that him?" Hermione whispered to Alina beside him as they all sat down. He tried to follow where the both of their eyes were looking across the hall but was unable to find out who this _him_ he kept hearing get brought up was.

While he couldn't see who _him_ was, he was able to make out the rest of the occupants inside of the dining hall. Seated in the middle four tables of the hall was the much larger population of Durmstrang students. They were all dressed in red robes that had a deep black trim on their borders. On the far side of the hall was seated, what he could only assume, was the Beauxbatons Academy students. All of them were dressed in light blue robes, and many of them wore hats that looked more like something from a wizarding fashion magazine than the normal simple pointed school hat.

His eyes immediately landed on a familiar face on the far Beauxbaton's table, it was a hard face to miss after all. The drop dead beautiful Veela, Fleur Delacour, was sitting towards the far side of the Beauxbaton's table. The girl looked every bit the same as she had over the summer when he had dueled her in the finals of the dueling tournament. She still looked hot as hell and was looking to be full of the fire he knew she certainly had in her. After letting his eyes linger for a few more seconds he turned to see if he could see any of the Durmstrang students that he had dueled in a tournament before. After a few seconds of searching though he gave up, admitting to himself that there were just too many Durmstrang students in the hall for him to actually spot anyone specific.

"Welcome, to The Durmstrang Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry," The man he recognized as Durmstrang's Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, from the tournament in Germany announced from the podium to the hall of students. "I would first like to thank our guests for making the journey out to our home. We thank you for joining us this year and are excited to have you here. I would next like to thank Albus Dumbledore and Olympe Maxime for all of their assistance in making this year's tournament happen. Without their assistance this all would have never been able to happen." Karkaroff turned and bowed to the two other headmasters who bowed politely back.

"Now before we start the feast and officially begin the Triwizards' Tournament, I have a few more announcements to make. Three champions have already been chosen from each of the participating school, and starting tonight these champions will set off on one of the most difficult challenges of their lives. The Triwizards' Tournament is one of the most renowned tests of magic that has ever been known to wizarding kind. This year the tournament will be no different.

"As in the years before, the chosen champions will compete against each other in a series of three trials, each of the trials more demanding than the next. Each trial has been designed specifically by one of the Headmasters of each of the three schools, and as a result no two trials will be alike. Following each trial, the champions will be given a point total out of ten based on their performances. The team with the highest point total at the end of the tournament will be crowned Triwizard Champions and will take home the Triwizards' Cup!" An assortment of _oohs_ and _ahhs_ could be heard throughout the crowd as Karkaroff revealed the cup.

This was the first time that they had seen the cup in person since hearing about it. The Triwizards' Cup looked a lot more magical than the Goblet of Fire did that was for sure. The base of the cup appeared to be made out of two pure gold dragon's tails. The tails intertwined themselves and curled their way up to the top of the cup, making up the cup's handle as they advanced upwards. The upper half of the cup seemed to be made out of some sort of a blue crystal. The crystal was glowing, and radiating a blue glow throughout the hall. He had to admit this trophy was a lot cooler and badass than any trophy he had ever received growing up. Though he had only ever received one geography and spelling bee trophies before, so that wasn't really saying much.

"Now I would like to introduce and honor this year's Triwizard Champions one final time! Please stand up when I call your name so that you can be recognized. From Beauxbatons Academy, your Triwizard Champions are, Oliver Minoit-Weiss Marceau-and Fleur Delacour!" Karkaroff introduced the three Beauxbaton's champions and the Beauxbaton's section erupted into a series of applause.

Marik wasn't surprised at all to see that Fleur was one of the Beauxbaton's champions, she had, after all, made the EMSDC three years in a row and had proven herself a number of times in the tournament to be very skilled with a wand in her hands.

Standing next to Fleur was another tall blonde girl. From his seat he could tell that this girl looked a little older than Fleur did, so that meant she was probably a fifth or sixth year. The girl named Weiss had bright blue eyes that radiated vividly in contrast to the girl's pale skin. Next to Weiss was a tall boy, who based on his appearance looked to also probably be a fifth or sixth year. Oliver had long black hair that reached down to his shoulders, and skin that was just as pale as the two girls next to him. Altogether outside of Fleur, Marik thought that none of them looked to be that intimidating overall. But, if they had been chosen by the Goblet of Fire they had to be pretty good.

"We wish you three great luck in the months to come. Now, to continue the introductions. From Hogwarts, your three champions are, Hermione Granger-Marik Ose-and Harry Potter!" The three of them stood up as their names being announced. Around them the Hogwarts section had erupted into a small banter of applause for them. He smiled, and took a few miniature bows to the Hogwart's students around him, taking advantage of the attention being put on him. He smiled when he saw a few of them laugh, including Alina and Luna, who shortly after rolled their eyes in unison. After the applause died down the three of them found their seats.

"Drama queen," Alina whispered to him.

"Jealous?" he whispered back, knowing full well that she was.

Alina had been just as surprised as the three of them had been when they were chosen for the tournament. After all, through Hermione's research they learned that an overwhelming majority of the champions in previous tournaments had completed at least their fifth years. So, the fact that three fourth year students had been chosen would be a surprise to anyone; it sure as hell was to them. He knew Alina was jealous that she was the one in their group left out of the tournament, but she had been a good enough sport about it and given them all her complete support in preparing for the trip to Durmstrang and everything else.

"Now, last, but certainly not least. It is time to announce the final three champions! From _the_ Durmstrang Institute your champions are, Viktor Krum-Rosa Westerwelle-and Dedrick Karkaroff!" Karkaroff announced, and a much louder set of applause ensued as the entire Durmstrang section began applauding.

"Hermione that's him!" He heard Alina whisper across the table into Hermione's ear. Marik this time was able to follow their eyes. One of the three standing Durmstrang champions he recognized. He had dueled the tall brawny Viktor boy his first year in the dueling tournament. The other boy, the one that both Alina and Hermione's eyes were locked on, Marik had never seen before.

The boy looked to be shorter than he was and from his appearance alone Marik would be surprised if he was even a fourth year. The boy had short black hair and dark brown eyes. Altogether, he didn't look to impressive and Marik was struggling to figure out why Alina and Hermione were so interested in him and how they knew him.

The girl standing in between the two boys did look a little intimidating on the other hand. She had pitch black hair pulled into a ponytail and a face that meant nothing but business. The girl looked much older than the two boys standing next to her and had to be at least a sixth or seventh year. As the cheers died down the boy his two female friends were looking at turned to face their table. As he sat down Marik could've sworn the boy winked at Alina. _Him. . ._ His mind immediately went to the word. _Could Alina be. . ._ He felt a sting of pain at the thought, not wanting to finish it, and trying to not allow himself to.

"Congratulation's to you all again! We wish you all the best of luck! Now, with that bit of business taken care of I have one more final notice for our champions. The first task of the tournament will take place exactly three weeks from today. You will not be given any clues for the first challenge. All we three will tell you is that you will need to be prepared for _anything_ by then.

"We hope that you will not waste any time and that you will make sure that you are ready to go in three weeks' time. Now, with that done, I officially announce the start of the Triwizards' Tournament! Let the feast begin!" Karkaroff announced and food appeared in the empty plates in front of them. Immediately hands were flying trying to grab the different plates. His plate remained empty at the present though. He wasn't feeling hungry anymore, his mind was too busy thinking.

"Is everything alright Marik?" Luna asked from next to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, looking across the hall at the Durmstrang table.

"Then why aren't you eating? You were complaining about being hungry and wanting to see how good Durmstrang's food was earlier," Luna asked him again.

"I SAID I'M FINE LUNA!" he found himself shouting at the girl. He immediately felt bad for shouting at her, not knowing where all of the sudden anger had come from. He picked up a piece of bread from the table and tore off a small piece, trying to avoid the awkward silence that he had created with his outburst.

"Soo. . . you guys excited?" Alina asked, breaking the silence that had ensued after his outburst. He could feel her eyes practically piercing through him.

"I am," Harry answered her.

"I don't know how I am going to sleep over the next three weeks not knowing what the first challenge is going to be. They could have at least given us some kind of clue," Hermione answered.

"How about you Marik? MARIK!" He found himself being pulled out of his daze at the sound of his name being called.

"What?" he asked, unsure of who had said his name or why.

"I was talking to you. What the hell is wrong with you?" Alina asked him. On their own his eyes lingered on hers for a few moments, before he painfully forced them back to the hall again.

"Nothing is wrong with me. I was just in a daze taking, _this,_ all in," he answered her, somewhat honestly.

"Mhmm." He heard her say sarcastically. The rest of the feast progressed slowly. Having lost his appetite he sat in silence as the others around him ate and discussed their excitement over the tournament and the school. At last, after what felt like hours, Karkaroff asked for his students to find their groups to give the castle tours and dismissed everyone in the hall.

"You are just as stunning as I remembered." A voice confessed as he sat up and fixed his cloak. He saw that one of Durmstrang's champions, the Dedrick boy that Alina and Hermione had been looking at earlier, had come over and was now hugging Alina.

 _How did they know each other. . . Why was he hugging her. . ._ He thought to himself, although those thoughts were quickly interrupted as the boy took Alina's hand and kissed the back of it. It took all of his self control inside of him to keep his magic down and his wand in its holster. _And why the hell is he kissing her fucking hand!_

"You never told me you were one of Durmstrang's Champions!" Alina said, noticeably playfully to the boy.

"I thought it would be fun to see the look on your face when you found out. It was quite a good look by the way," The Dedrick boy replied flirtatiously. Hermione cleared her throat loudly.

"Oh I'm so rude. Everyone this is Dedrick, Dedrick these are my friends I told you about," Alina told the boy as she pointed them all out.

"I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you Dedrick," Hermione said while shaking the boy's hand.

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry followed suit and did the same. The boy extended his hand out towards Marik. Marik ignored the hand however, and started off towards the entrance of the hall.

"Come on Luna lets go get this tour over with," he told her, not attempting to hide the venom in his voice.

"I will actually be your tour guide this evening." He turned back to see the Dedrick boy grinning. Oh how he wanted to smack that grin off his face. They had been in the castle a short time and with this Dedrick fellow even shorter and Marik already hated him. "But if you will all follow me, we can get this tour _over with_ ," he said, winking at Marik as he led their group off into the castle. Marik again had to put all his effort into controlling himself from cursing the kid then and there.

"What is your problem?" Alina whispered to him, glaring at him as they followed Dedrick down a hall. He ignored her though and followed closer behind everyone else. Dedrick led them slowly through the castle, stopping way too frequently to show them an important room, flirt with Alina, and tell a personal story about something spectacular that he had done in the school. Marik watched Alina the whole time and took note of how she acted around the boy. Alina seemed to be enjoying every minute of the tour, and eating up each of the boy's words like pudding.

"Marik, maybe we should talk," Luna said to him as they headed up a large flight of stairs towards where they were told their dorms would be. She pulled on his hand and tried to get him to stop walking.

"I don't want to talk Luna. I'm tired and just want to go to sleep," he found himself replying to Luna with an icy venom again for the second time that night. Normally he would have felt guilty, after all she was only worried about him and just trying to help. He was just in too bad a mood right now though. He would apologize to her tomorrow when he had cooled off.

"And this is where I will leave you all tonight. The door on the right is to the boys' dorms the door on the left is to the girls. You will find your class schedules on your beds," Dedrick announced to them all.

"Night," he said coldly, and quickly made his way into the boys' dorms. Following the path of the long hallway he stopped by each door looking for his name on the banner outside of each. After finally finding the room that he would be sharing with Harry for the year he entered and slammed the door behind him.

" _Silencio,"_ he cast the silencing spell on the room, and all at once he felt the magic he had been holding back since dinner start to release itself. He let it all pull itself out of him, not wanting to hold it inside any longer. His body was instantly encompassed in familiar dark black shadows. As more of his emotions and magic were let out, the smoky shadows started to radiate off of his body like smoke from a fire. He found himself screaming in anger for a few moments before his throat started to hurt and dried out. After a split second of screaming he and his magic seemed to calm down a little and the shadows began to return back inside of him.

"You want to talk about it?" Harry asked him from the doorway. Marik had never heard him enter.

"Guess you saw that?" He asked back, knowing the answer already.

"Yeah, Marik, I saw that," Harry answered, looking concerned.

"I'm fine now, just needed to blow off some steam," he answered, plopping himself down on one of the two beds inside the room.

"And what happens when you see them the next time? Will you have to blow off steam then too?" Harry asked him as he laid down on the bed next to Marik. He didn't answer. Harry already knew his answer anyways.

"How long?" He asked Harry, feeling his breathing calm down a little more.

"They started talking after the dueling tournament over the summer. They only became official a few days ago as far as I know," Harry answered him.

"And you and Hermione didn't tell me?" he asked again.

"Alina made us promise not to tell you." Harry answered again.

"Why didn't she want me to know?" he asked another question.

"I don't know Marik, Maybe she didn't want you to get hurt. Or maybe she was worried you would act like you just did," Harry answered, sitting up in the bed.

"Yeah. . ." he said not really believing Harry's reasoning, but still followed Harry's lead and sat up too.

"What can I do for you Marik? Me and Hermione need your head on straight if we are going to win this thing," Harry asked to him. Marik picked up the schedule paper next to him on the bed.

"Let me kick that prick's ass," Marik said, smiling for the first time since finding all this out at the prospect of stunning the dick a few times.

"If we get the chance in tournament he is all yours," Harry said, returning his smile.

"Then I will be good," he replied, wiping his eye where a lonely tear had tried to escape. "Now help me out with distracting myself, I was planning on adding two new rune tattoos tonight. I finished carving them this morning." He told Harry as he conjured his shrunken bag from his robe's pocket.

"Ooh, which two spells this time?" Harry asked as he lifted the sleeve on his left forearm revealing the forearm that now was almost entirely covered in rune-tattoos.

" _Confringo_ and _expulso._ Figured those two would come in handy this tournament if I ever end up losing my wand and need a backup plan," he answered as he went over to his bag to grab some runes.

"Good idea. But you have to help me with some of my wing formulas as well. Switching everything from left to right is giving me headaches," Harry replied.

"Deal. And thanks, Harry, for everything, you're a good friend," Marik answered, smiling again.

"I know. And you are an okay friend too Marik," Harry joked, and the two of them laughed together and began working on their magic for the remainder of the night, allowing him to put everything else out of his mind.

* * *

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	43. Book4: Chapter 6

**Harry**

"The bluebell flame is just one of the many types of flames that can be created through magic. The first known use of the bluebell flame spell can be traced all the way back to the Qin dynasty in China. The Qin dynasty used the bluebell flame as a source of light and defense along the Great Wall. Can anyone tell me how it was used for both? Yes, Miss Granger isn't it?" Durmstrang's charms professor, Remy Khao, explained to the full class.

"Yes, Professor it is. And the bluebell flame will stay lit as long as there is magic in the area. So, as long as their was a guard somewhere near the flame on the wall it would remain lit. And the bluebell flame still also carries the same powers and traits of a normal flame, however, the victim when burned would feel cold instead of hot," Hermione answered the question, sounding confident with her answer.

"Well said Miss Granger well said. Now. . ." Professor Khao started to ramble off again.

"I really feel like someone needs to tell this guy it's time to retire. He looks older than half the books I have found in Durmstrang's library," Marik whispered to him. He tried to keep himself from laughing. Marik was right, even if it was rude. The professor did look ancient, making even their very own Professor Binns look like a child.

"He may be old, but he is also the most published author on conjuration magic in Europe," Hermione whispered to them in defense of the professor.

"Hermione, he has probably published more than anyone else because he has outlived everyone else," Harry added playfully, causing Marik and Hermione to have to stifle laughs.

"I miss Flitwick," Marik said after he calmed down his laughter.

"I do too," he admitted quietly.

"He may not be as good a teacher as Flitwick, but I think it is good to get a different perspective," Hermione whispered back.

"You are just saying that because he already loves you!" Marik replied.

"And you are just jealous that not having Kingsley around keeps you from being the prodigy child," Hermione argued back.

"True," Marik said, nodding his head with a smile.

"Mr. Ose isn't it?" The professor asked breaking them all from their conversation. Marik sat up looking pale. He obviously had not been paying attention to the charms professor's words.

"Uhh yes sir?" Marik asked, scratching his head.

"I was just looking for a second volunteer and saw that you were interested in volunteering. Please come," Professor Khao said with a smirk. Harry couldn't help but smile as he watched Marik nervously make his way down to the professor, not knowing what he had been chosen to do.

"Now Miss Delacour, and Mr. Ose I would like to demonstrate for the class how we can combine the properties of two different spells to create our desired result," Professor Khao started to explain and Harry noticed that the Beauxbaton's Champion Fleur had also been asked to volunteer. He sat up in his chair to watch her, hoping to see anything that might help them in the Triwizards' Tournament. He had seen Fleur perform magic each year during the EMSDC, but he would take every chance he could to see what kind of tricks the future competetion could do.

"Miss Delacour, I would like for you to cast the bluebell flame spell to create just a small flame in the middle of the room okay?" Professor Khao asked Fleur who nodded in response. "Mr. Ose I take it you know the incantation for another type of flame spell, it can be anyone of them that you do know?" Marik nodded as well. "Okay then, I would like for you to cast the flame spell that you have choosen at Fleur's bluebell flame once she has finished. I would like for everyone else to observe closely."

" _Azure Ignio."_ Harry watched on as Fleur cast the bluebell flame spell and a large ball of blue fire shot from her wand and began hovering at the center of the room. The classroom was filled with a bright blue light as the flame grew larger. Marik raised his left hand and without saying a word cast the _incendio_ spell and a jet of orange and red flame shot from his hand. The classroom _oohed_ and _awwed_ thinking Marik was able to cast the spell wandlessly and silently, which Harry guessed technically he had done, even though it was really just Marik's rune-tattoo magic allowing him to do so that way.

Marik's flame intertwined with the blue flame that was already present. For a few seconds the flames seemed to be fighting for dominance against each other as they expanded and contracted against the other's flame. After a little while longer though, the two fires seemed to quickly die down and harden into something that looked similar to a crystal.

"Wonderful! As you saw class Marik's choice of the _incendio_ spell was a type of fire-making spell that only remains lit for a short period of time, or for as long as it is fed magic. While it was lit and intermingling with Fleur's bluebell flame spell it was attempting to use the cold flames as its source of magic to remain lit. While the _incendio_ flame eventually died out, it was still able to burn some of its magical properties into Fleur's bluebell spell. The result is this." The professor held up the blue and red crystal to the class. "Can anyone tell me what this is?" Harry had to quickly dodge to his right as Hermione's hand shot up like a rocket again beside him. "Ah Mr. Hoggins." The professor pointed to a Durmstrang student. Hermione huffed in disappointment.

"It is a feeding flame crystal. It is a common source of food for dragon's to eat before they hibernate as the crystal slowly melts inside the dragon's stomach over the years and helps maintain their levels of magic over long periods of time, though, the crystals are normally much bigger," the Durmstrang boy answered.

"Correct! Thank you Miss Delacour and Mr. Ose you may return to your seats now. Now flame crystals are a keen example. . ." Professor Khao continued to speak about the feeding flame crystal.

"Way to show off," he joked as Marik sat back down.

"I didn't show off," Marik argued.

"Seems someone was impressed with your spell casting," Hermione said to them. He and Marik both followed where her eyes were fixated on. Their eyes landed on Fleur Delacour, who seemed to be staring directly at Marik. The Beauxbatons champion quickly turned her head back to the professor as she noticed they were now looking at her.

"She probably is going to tell the other champions I can do magic without a wand now," Marik replied.

"Yeah, you probably should of kept that a secret for as long as you could of," he added. They needed every advantage they could get going into this tournament, especially as the youngest overall team. And every secret that got out about their abilities and magic made things even tougher for them.

"I don't think _that_ was why she was looking," Hermione said, rolling her eye and frowning at them. "Anyways, I think it is safe to assume that Marik isn't the only one who will be able to cast spells wandlessly or silently during the tournament."

"Yeah, true. We already know for a fact too that Beauxbaton's champion, Weiss, can do silent spells," he replied.

"Oh is that what you were telling me about earlier? What was the article in the journal she was published in on again?" Marik asked them.

"She is the one that is working on silent casting against the _imperius_ curse. Britain's and France's Ministry of Defense are pouring tons of money and resources into her research," Harry answered him.

"What's the goal?" Marik whispered his question out as the professor scribbled more notes onto the board.

"The hope is that if just part of the mind of someone who is _imperiused_ can recognize that they are not in control that they would be able to mentally break free from the curse," Hermione answered.

"Wow that sounds pretty impressive. Sounds like a more badass version of bind breaking," Marik replied as the rest of the classroom stood up and began gathering their things. Harry had been paying more attention to their conversation than he was to the class and guessed that meant that class was already over. He quickly put up his books and notes in his bag and headed out of the classroom with his friends.

"Do we really have to do this interview?" Marik asked them as they made their way outside into the halls of Durmstrang.

"Dumbledore said all interviews, events, and meetings are non-negotiable," he answered with a frown. He wasn't looking forward to having to do the interview either.

"Hey guys!" A voice shouted at them from down the hall. They all turned to see Alina waving at them. Luna and the Durmstrang Champion Dedrick were also walking with her.

"Hey Alina, Luna, Dedrick," Harry said, greeting them as they made their way over.

"How was your charms class?" Alina asked them.

"Very informative," Hermione answered first.

"I'm glad you had a good class then, I almost fell asleep three times in transfiguration," Alina answered.

"Professor Tibbins is quite boring," Dedrick replied, yawning at the end of his words.

"Marik do you have any free time before you have to go to your interview? I would like to talk to you please," Luna asked Marik. To Harry it kind of looked like Luna had been crying or something but to be honest it was hard to tell with the dark blue eyeliner Luna was wearing.

"No I don't Alina, sorry. We have to get to this interview thing now," Marik answered her, Harry watched nervously as Luna's face got paler and her expression changed at his friend's mistake. He also saw Alina blush. Harry braced himself for what he knew was coming.

 _You fucked up._ He internally screamed at Marik.

"My name is Luna," Luna pointed out to Marik in a cold tone. Her voice with enough venom in it to melt steel.

"What? I know that," Marik replied, looking confused.

"You just called me Alina. So apparently you don't," Luna said, glaring him down in the process.

"Oh, sorry Luna, just a slip of the tongue. My bad," Marik apologized and gave his girlfriend a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Harry noted that Luna didn't seem to take the apology as one of sincerity and continued to look pissed.

"Anywaysss. . . We better get going. Dedrick can you show us the way?" Hermione asked, thankfully breaking the awkward silence that had arrived in the hallway.

"Yeah, follow me. C'ya later Alina," Dedrick answered, laughing at the predicament and gave Alina a peck on the cheek before heading down the hallway.

The followed Dedrick silently down the hallway towards the room where the nine champions would be doing interviews.

While he and Hermione did not have much of a problem with Alina's new boyfriend, both of them had decided to stay out of things as much as they could in hopes of keeping Marik level headed during the tournament. They needed everyone to be on good terms and in good moods if they were to have any chance at winning. After a few minutes of walking in awkward silence they thankfully arrived at the interview room.

"And here the rest of them are!" a women with a large camera in her hands shouted as they all entered the room. It took Harry a few seconds to adjust his eyes after being blinded by the camera's flash.

They were in a fairly large classroom; most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle; three of them however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long length of velvet. Nine chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks, and the three Headmasters were gathered in the center of the room talking to who Harry could only assume were the interviewers.

Dedrick left their group for the Durmstrang group, who were standing in a corner talking amongst themselves. Fleur and the rest of the Beauxbatons team seemed to be in a deep conversation in another corner of the room as well. Fleur looked a good deal happier than Harry had seen her look previously in the classroom; she kept throwing back her head so that long silvery hair caught the light and seemed to be looking over towards them quite frequently. A large, round man who was obviously wearing a poor attempt at a wig walked to the center of the room and asked the champions to all be seated. Harry followed his friends and grabbed a chair at the end of the table.

"Thank you champions for taking the time out of your busy days preparing for the Triwizards' Tournament to come here. Readers all over Europe have been dying to get more information on the tournament and its champions!" the round man told them all.

"Reporters you may begin with your questions now," the round man announced to the small group of reporters and pointed to one of them as they all raised their hands.

"Viktor, your grandfather was part of the Durmstrang team that lost in the last held Triwizards' Tournament, did he have any words of advice for you?" one of the reporters asked Viktor Krum. Harry leaned forward to hear his answer better. Any answer said here during the interview may be information that would help them win the tournament.

"My grandfather just told me to be ready for anything, and make sure that I help win this one for Durmstrang." Viktor Krum answered. The round man pointed at another reporter.

"Harry Potter-many people are saying that you were given the spot as a champion for Hogwarts because you were the one who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when you were merely a child and not based on your actual skill ability. What are your comments on this?" the reporter asked him.

He felt a tinge of anger at the question. Of course people would think he had been handed this because of what happened to him as a child and not because he had actually earned it. He gave himself a few seconds to calm down before he answered, not wanting to say something he might regret later.

"I don't think that is the case at all. We were all chosen based off the Goblet of Fire's magic, not because of Voldemort. I earned this the same as everyone else and the Goblet of Fire proved that when it chose my name," he answered, annoyed at the question. He saw that a few of the reporters grimaced at the mention of Voldemort's name. The round man pointed to another reporter.

"Dedrick Karkaroff, you are the son of Durmstrang's Headmaster. Does that change how you feel about the tournament at all or how you will approach things," another reporter asked Alina's boyfriend.

"No it doesn't. I would have been chosen regardless of who my father is, and Durmstrang _will_ win regardless," Dedrick answered confidently.

"Smug bastard," Marik whispered beside Harry. The round man pointed at another reporter with their hand raised.

"Harry Potter, champions of the Triwizards' tournament are known to achieve great glory if they win. How will the glory of winning the tournament compare with the glory of being the boy who lived," the same reporter asked him again. Again he found himself getting annoyed and angered at the question.

"I am _not_ the boy who lived. I _am_ just Harry Potter. There is no glory in being a baby who got lucky. I look forward to competing in the tournament and if we win I look forward to getting recognition I actually earned." He tried his best to keep a calm head as he answered.

"Well said," Hermione whispered to him and gave him a smile. Her smile always seemed to calm him down a little. Another reporter was given permission to ask a question.

"Oliver Minoit, you have been ranked as the number one ranked wizard in Europe in both your fourth year and last year as a fifth year. What can the audience expect from Europe's number one student?" The reporter asked the older looking boy with long black hair.

Harry found this bit of information very interesting and informative. They had not known that Oliver had been ranked the number one student in Europe for two consecutive years. That was an impressive feat. Harry couldn't help but wonder if Oliver would still be number one if he were in the same year as Hermione though. Unfortunately, since European wide rankings did not start until fourth year, he would never know the answer.

"They should expect a magical performance and nothing less," Oliver answered the reporter. His response short and to the point.

"Marik Ose, You have won the EMSDC three years in a row now, and have been proclaimed by European Dueling Champion, Filius Flitwick, as the future of great duelists. Do you think your ability dueling will translate well in the tournament?" another reporter asked Marik.

"Well I would certainly hope so," Marik answered sarcastically. Harry, Hermione, and a few other of the champions snickered at his sarcastic response. The round man pointed at another reporter.

"Fleur Delacour, you were the sole fourth year chosen by the Goblet to be on a team with two sixth year students. Why do you think the cup chose you?" the reporter asked Fleur.

"Because I am good at what I do and have proven myself to be able to compete with older witches and wizards more than enough times," Fleur answered the question without hesitation. That was no lie, Fleur had certainly proved over the summer tournaments that she was no joke, especially in a duel.

"Miss Delacour, I also have a question for you," another reporter started. "You have lost in three straight EMSDC, all of them to current Hogwarts Triwizard Champions. One to Hermione Granger, and two to Marik Ose, do those losses add any extra motivation to your desire to win the tournament or do they evoke fear of another defeat?" Harry leaned forward again, interested in this answer.

"Of course they motivate me. I detest losing. I want to win in everything I do. I look forward to getting a shot at the two of them during the tournament and hope to redeem myself a little. And no, I don't fear them or losing," Fleur answered and gave their group a smile.

"Guess we can't expect her to easy on us then. Thanks you two," he joked to Hermione and Marik. Another reporter stood up to ask a question.

"Harry Potter, many people in the German, Ministry of Magic were concerned that there may be an attack by death eaters at Durmstrang during the tournament because of you, since you were the reason for the attacks on Hogwarts, what do you say to this?" The question hit him like a ton of bricks, bringing back all the emotions he had felt before his talk with Remus on the bridge last year.

"Harry was _not_ responsible for the attack on the school. Just because he may or may not be one of Voldemort's targets does not mean he is responsible for everything Voldemort, or his minions do," Hermione answered angrily from beside him. Her answer made him feel a little better, though it was hard to repress the bad memories.

"Thanks Hermione," he said, giving her a half-smile.

"My question was for Harry dear, not you. A few of the captured death eaters expressed when interrogated that they were there in fact at Hogwarts to find Harry Potter, so I ask you the same question again Harry," the female reporter asked him again with a grin. He took a few moments to gather himself, or else he might have cursed the women then and there.

"I do not feel responsible for what happened at Hogwarts. I am just a student. It wasn't my job to defend the castle, and I wasn't one of the aurors on guard, and I certainly wasn't the Minister of Magic who issued the defense plans for the school. . . I am not responsible for what Voldemort does. He was a crazy idiot before my time, and me being in this tournament now doesn't change that. He will always be a crazy idiot," Harry answered, his last few words coming out with some added venom to them. Hermione placed her hand on his knee below the table and gave him another smile. There was an awkward silence in the room before another reporter stood up to ask a question.

"Weiss Marceau, your Headmaster was reported saying that you were the next big name in the long list of famous French witches. How do her kind words make you feel?" another reporter asked the tall blonde girl. Harry wished he got questions that easy instead of all these pointed questions.

"I am grateful to have such a kind person as my Headmaster say things like that about me. Her words have only added to the motivation to win this tournament that I already have. I look forward to making her proud," Weiss answered the reporter with a large, pretty smile. Another reporter stood up.

"Rosa Westerwelle, when we spoke to some of your professors they all praised you for your work in your charms and dark arts courses. How much do you feel your strength in these subjects will help you during the first task?" the reporter asked the lone female Durmstrang champion.

"While we have no idea what the first task may be I am sure that my abilities will find their ways to make a positive impact. From what I have read on about previous tournaments it seems like charms especially will come in very handy," Rosa answered.

"Hermione Granger, you have been published in _The Brewers Batch_ already at such a young age and have also made it quite far in the EMSDC. Besides dueling and potions what do you feel will be your greatest contribution to your team," another reporter asked Hermione.

"I think I am very well rounded in all my courses and abilities, so I will be able to give a little bit of everything. I will just be looking to help us win anyway that I can, and will contribute where I am needed. Harry, Marik, and myself have all been friends for a while now, so I think we will all contribute in a lot of different ways. I think our chemistry will be the greatest contribution in winning the tournament though, not our individual strengths," Hermione answered and received nods of agreement from he and Marik.

"Harry Potter, how much will you use your reputation as the wizard who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to your advantage during this tournament?" the same witch who had asked the other pointed questions to him asked again. This question almost put him over the edge.

Nothing more in his life pissed him off more than people like her. People who thought he was the _chosen one_ or that he was given everything in life because of that title. They were always the people who thought he had never actually earned anything for himself and had been given everything on a silver platter. He had done nothing to survive the killing curse, nor did he ever once in his life take credit for actually doing something like that. If anything he and his family had always done the opposite. He had denied countless times his role in everything, and countless times people still ignored him.

Harry hated being the boy-who-lived. The title made him sick. He had worked his ass off ever since he was a little kid; he had put in countless hours studying, working, and practicing to become the wizard that he was today. He had become a completed _animagus_ not because of Voldemort, but because of his work ethic. He had become number two in his year not because of Voldemort, but because he had put everything into his work. He was chosen for this tournament because he was part of the best team at Hogwarts, not because Voldemort tried to kill him back then. He was not given anything, he had earned everything. Hermione grabbed his hand under the table, calming him slightly before he spoke.

"I _won't_. To all the people like you that think I am where I am today because of Voldemort, or because I survived the killing curse you are ignorant. I was a child when Voldemort attacked me, I did nothing but cry. His error did not make me who I am today. My family, my professors, and my friends made me who I am today. My hard work and my obsession with magic is why I am in this tournament. I will use my friends and my magic to my advantage this tournament, not a stupid title. I will gladly use the reputation I _have_ earned as a talented wizard, a top student, and a good friend to my advantage, but I will _never_ use the reputation of the-boy-who-lived. I earned everything I have," he answered the annoying reporter again. He made no attempt to hide the anger in his voice as he did.

"That is all the time we have for questions," Durmstrang's Headmaster Karkaroff announced to the reporters who all stood up and exited the room.

"Holy Hell that was rough," Marik said while looking right at him.

"Are you okay Harry?" Hermione asked him looking concerned. He was glad she was still holding onto his hand, it was helping from chasing after that stupid reporter.

"I will be okay. Thanks Hermione." He smiled at his best friend.

"What the hell was that witches problem?" Marik asked him, looking pissed himself.

"No clue, but it took all I had to not stun the mess out of her," He answered honestly.

"That was Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet. She is the reporter that writes all the misleading articles like the one that claimed Dumbledore was actually the dumbest wizard of our age." Hermione answered him.

"Well that makes since then," he said, eyeing the witch angrily as she left the room.

"Champions thank you again for your cooperation. We wish you good luck in last minute preparations before the first task. You are free to leave now," Karkaroff said again to them and they made their way out of the classroom. As pissed off as he was now he didn't have time to concern himself with dumb questions and ignorant people. He had a tournament to prepare for, which meant it was time to go hit the books.

* * *

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	44. Book4: Chapter 7

**Hermione**

Another exasperating yawn escaped her mouth as she picked up her cup of coffee from the table; she certainly needed all the caffeine she could get today. Last night had been hell. No, scratch that, this past week had been hell. Never in her life had she ever found it as hard to get a little sleep as she had this week. Ever since she was old enough to read she had always fallen asleep to the same routine like clockwork. She would lay down with a good book and at some point fall asleep and wake up the next morning with the book sprawled somewhere across her bed.

This week, though, she felt like sleep was impossible to come by. The fact that she was a Triwizards Champion had set in long ago and was not the reason behind her poor sleep schedule. The issue was that the fact that the tournament was finally about to start had only begun to sink in. The worst part of the feeling finally sinking in was not that she had to participate in the tournament. No, she had Harry and Marik by her side for that, so she knew everything would be fine. The worst part was that she had no idea what the first task was, and it was driving her mad; though, maybe insane would be a better choice of word.

Since the panic had begun to set in a few days back, she had scoured Durmstrang's library for any books that may have any information on the Triwizards' Tournament, hoping that she might find some common trends of first tasks. It was useless though. The objective of each first task was different every year, and each objective depended on which Headmaster at the time was designing it.

She also tried to discover which Headmaster had been in charge of designing the first task, but again, was unable to get any useful information. She had gone so far as to even ask Dumbledore if he could let them know anything but he had just smiled and walked away. She had been hoping if she knew which Headmaster was designing the first task that she would be able to at least narrow down some of the magic they should expect, she had no such luck though.

All of her worrying, panic, and research only led her back to square one, which was nothing.

 _Thank god for coffee._

"Morning Hermione. Sleep any better?" She lifted her head from her coffee cup that she was aimlessly gazing into at the sound of her name being called out. She saw that it was Harry. She gave him a warm smile as he sat down next to her. He was already wearing the dark black battle robes Harry's father had bought for them when they were announced as Triwizard Champions. He looked really good in them.

"Hey Harry. No I didn't unfortunately," she answered him and took another sip from her coffee.

 _Mmmm so good._ She thought to herself with a mental smile as she started to feel some of the caffeine kicking in.

"Me either. Me and Marik ended up practicing in our dorm until around four this morning," Harry answered her and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm jealous! Cho goes to bed so early, so I was stuck in my bed doing nothing all night. What did you both work on?" she asked Harry. Living with Cho this year had so far not been too bad. Cho was hardly ever in the room and when she was she was always asleep. So far the two of them had probably said a total of ten words to each other, which Hermione did not mind at all.

"I worked on my _legilimency_ with him a little. I'm getting more consistent at creating mental hallucinations and we both figured that would come in handy at some point during the tournament. He just worked on a few different charms and what not," Harry answered her, another yawn escaping his mouth. She could tell he was just as tired as she was.

"Where is Marik by the way?" she asked him, just now realising that Marik had not arrived to the dining hall like he normally did with Harry.

"Luna was letting him have it in the hallway. He will be here in a bit," Harry answered, shaking his head with a slight smile at their friend's expense.

"What did the idiot do this time, call her Alina again?" Hermione asked, not surprised at all that Marik was in trouble with Luna again. Luna seemed to be upset with Marik practically everyday, which honestly she had pretty good reasons to be. Marik had not been the best boyfriend to her since they had arrived at Durmstrang.

"No, not that again. According to her he has been ignoring her and acting disinterested, or something like that. I got out of there once I saw her coming," Harry answered her in his best Luna impression. His poor attempt at the Ravenclaw girl's accent made her laugh.

"Well that sounds about right. Everytime we see them together it looks like Marik is off somewhere lost in his head and Luna is desperately trying to get his attention. Either that, or she is crying and he is apologizing for something."

Ever since Marik and Luna had arrived at Durmstrang their relationship had seemed to worsen. It honestly didn't even seem like the two of them were really even a couple anymore. Luna always looked like she was ready to hex Marik or cry, and Marik always looked like he was daydreaming or angry at something. The two of them had fought constantly. Although it may be more accurate to say Luna fought constantly, and Marik just kind of seemed to ignore it all.

Marik kept telling them that everything was fine and it wasn't a big deal, but as an outsider looking in, it certainly seemed like something was off. The two of them had become inseparable over the summer and Marik talked about Luna constantly. However, since the first few days at Durmstrang their relationship did not look like a healthy one at all.

"Think he will be ready to go today even with the drama?" she asked Harry, hopeful Marik would have his head in the game.

"Yeah, he will be fine. Are you going to be ready?" Harry asked her, his gaze turning to meet hers.

"Yeah, I'm obviously nervous, and ready to freaking know what the challenge is, but I'm excited to get started."

"Yeah, me too. Speak of the devil," Harry added as Marik finally arrived and grabbed a seat across from them. She noted his skin was a little paler than normal.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked before she could.

"I apparently, am an asshole. Who knew?" Marik said sarcastically as he grabbed a roll from the table along with a cup of coffee.

"You an asshole? No way!" another voice chimed in. Hermione saw that it was Alina who had also made her way into the dining hall and sat down next to Marik.

"I know right," Marik said with a half-hearted laugh.

"So why are you an asshole this time?" she asked her friend.

"Well Luna says that she has been in a one way relationship since school started, and that I am leading her on with false expectations and false feelings, or something like that." Marik answered her.

"What did you do this time?" Alina asked, stealing the butter tray from Marik.

"This time-I'm not particularly sure. I saw her in the hall, she started crying, she yelled at me about not being truthful with my true feelings, and then she broke up with me," Marik answered her. Hermione noted that he kept playing with his bracelet as he spoke.

"What?" she and Alina said in unison, a little taken aback at the news.

"She broke up with you?" Harry added, looking just as shocked as them.

"Yup," Marik said nonchalantly.

"Marik, I'm so sorry," Alina told him, wrapping her arms around her friend to give him a hug.

"I'll be okay. But thanks," Marik told them.

"Is there anything you need, or that we can do?" Harry asked him.

"Nah, I'm too concerned with this task to even worry about it now. We can cry and have a pajama party in the room later though Harry," Marik joked and gave Harry a wink. Apparently, the break up wasn't affecting him too much or if it was he wasn't letting them know.

"I wanna be there for the pajama party," she said playfully.

"Okay, but you have to stay on the top bunk. There is already barely any room with both me and Marik sharing the bottom bed," Harry joked and Alina did a spit take with her orange juice.

"I always knew it!" she said through laughter as she cleaned up the orange juice on the table.

"So did Rita write anything good today? Lemme guess, the article is about Harry and this time he is actually the next dark lord in training, and is using this tournament as a way to make his grand reveal to Europe," Marik joked. She saw the scorn immediately appear on Harry's face at the mention of Rita Skeeter.

Poor Harry had become enemy number one in the Daily Prophet since his name had been called by the Goblet of fire. It had very quickly become clear that the writers of the Daily Prophet were not the biggest fans of his. Why they seemed to hate Harry, she had no idea. Ever since their first interview with the reporters things had only gotten worse for Harry too. Everyday it seemed there was a new article spreading rumors and telling insane stories about her friend. Rita Skeeter's articles were some of the worst of all of them.

She had published a number of articles on Harry, each one more outrageous than the next. She had claimed Harry to be a serial killer and the mastermind behind the attacks on Hogwarts, Dumbledore's replacement in training, and a glory hungry animal who had bewitched the Goblet of Fire to chose him so that he could become even more famous. Altogether, it was no surprise that Harry had cancelled his subscription with the Daily Prophet.

"Actually, today the article was about Viktor Krum. Apparently, Bulgaria announced yesterday that Krum would be starting on their national Quidditch team this year. It was a boring article, though, so I didn't finish it," she answered him. Whenever an article mentioned Quidditch she quickly moved on to the next one.

"We should be sure to remember Krum is a good flyer during the tournament. He might be able to use a broom to his advantage," Harry told them.

"Good point Harry," She replied, not having come by that observation on her own.

"You guys better win today. I won't be known as the girl who sits with losers," Alina joked, they were all to anxious for the task though to laugh. "Tough crowd," Alina added, and turned her attention to her breakfast.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Mr. Ose, how are we feeling this morning," A voice interrupted them from their conversation. Hermione turned her head only to be surprised. Professor McGonagall, who she had not seen since the short amount of time they had spent at Hogwarts at the start of the year was standing next to them.

"Hey Professor!" Harry said, sounding excited at the sight of his favorite professor.

"What are you doing here professor?" Hermione asked, wondering what their transfiguration professor was doing at Durmstrang.

"You didn't think us professors would miss out on watching the tournament did you? Especially when students from our houses are participating!" McGonagall said with a wide smile that was more of a creepy grin than a smile.

"Does that mean all the professors are coming?" Marik asked the professor.

"Yes, Mr. Ose, all of your professors will be observing the tournament today," Professor McGonagall answered.

"So that you means you better not screw up kid!" Hermione saw professor Kingsley say to Marik as he also arrived into the hall.

"Kings!" Marik shouted as he jumped out of his seat to give his foster dad a hug. Hermione smiled at the sight of the two.

"All of Ravenclaw is rooting for you back at home Miss Granger! We set up a giant projection screen in the Great Hall for everyone to watch the first task today." She saw professor Flitwick appear from behind professor McGonagall.

"Thank you sir," she said, giving her head of house a smile.

" _All_ of Hogwarts is rooting for you three today. Dumbledore wanted me to tell you three that all of the champions have to go down to the grounds now-You have to get ready for the first task," Professor McGonagall told them.

You could hear a pin drop in the dining hall as the three of them made eye contact, realising that the tournament was actually about to begin. They all robotically stood up in silence.

"You three will do just fine," Kingsley told them, helping her nerves a little.

"Good luck guys. Make me proud!" Alina added, giving them each a quick goodluck hug as they headed out of the dining hall.

The three of them left the dining Hall and headed out towards the grounds of the castle. As she walked down the entrance stone steps she reached out and took Harry's hand into her own, needing something to help calm the butterflies fluttering around inside her stomach. As they walked across the grounds they arrived at a large tent that had been set up, the three Headmasters were all already standing outside its entrance.

"You three can go ahead inside and wait. We will be in shortly once the last champions arrive to provide instructions," Headmaster Dumbledore told them as they approached the tent. They all nodded and headed in the tent.

The inside of the tent had been enchanted to be much larger than it appeared on the outside. The tent was divided into three sections of seating, one for each school. The Beauxbaton Champions were all deep in conversation over in their section, probably planning for possible scenarios that they may encounter. The Durmstrang section was still currently empty. The three of them made their way over to the Hogwart's section and sat down nervously.

"Feels like the summer dueling tournament kind of doesn't it?" she said to Marik as she found a seat in their section. Sitting in a tent waiting for an event that she knew would have thousands of people watching her brought back the familiar nervous feeling.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Marik replied as his eyes darted around the tent.

"Excuse us," a voice interrupted them. The three Beauxbatons Academy Champions had made their way over to their section.

"We just wanted to wish you three a final good luck before the tournament begins. And we realised that we haven't formally introduced ourselves yet, so we figured since we would all be seeing a lot of each other today and the coming months now was as good a time as any. I am Weiss Marceau," The tall blonde witch said to the three of them and extended her hand out towards Hermione.

"I'm Oliver Minoit." The tall boy with long black hair followed suit and extended out his hand.

"And I'm Fleur Delacour, though I have already had the privilege to meet two of you," Fleur said with a smile as she extended her hand out too. Hermione had met Fleur before a few times actually, twice if she remembered correctly. Once, when she had dueled against her in the dueling tournament, another time when she had been staying in France over the summer and had bumped into her on the street.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said to the three Beauxbatons champions. Harry and Marik followed her lead and introduced herself.

"Good luck to you guys too," Harry told the three as they all finished exchanging hands.

"Thank you," Weiss replied and started heading back to the Beauxbatons section.

"I hope we cross paths again soon, Marik," Fleur said playfully to Marik as the two of them shook hands, before turning and following her two teammates, her silvery hair flowing behind her.

"Guess Fleur is really looking to get revenge on me for beating her in the tournament," Marik said, shrugging his shoulders. Hermione rolled her eyes at his obliviousness.

"That isn't what she meant you moron," she told him, still shaking her head.

"What?" Marik asked, looking confused.

"Fleur _likes_ you, you idiot. The looks she gives you in class are not angry, revenge looks, they are _I-think-that-guy-is-kinda-cute-looks._ And her wanting to _cross paths,_ is her wanting to see you again, not go up against you; well, maybe go up against you but in a different way. She was flirting with you, you dumb moron!" Hermione told him, laughing a little.

"Oh. . . _OH_! Really?" Marik asked looking shocked when he arrived at her conclusion.

"Yess! I _am_ a girl you know, I know these things," she said to her friend.

"Huh," Marik replied, his eyes roaming over to the part veela girl.

"How do you know what _I-think-that-guy-is-kinda-cute-looks_ are?" Harry asked her, a flirtatious, curious look on his face.

"Uhhh. . ." was all she managed to get out as her cheeks started to blush.

"Alright, let's try and focus a little," Harry told the both of them, thankfully saving her from further blushing as the gate to the tent opened and the three Durmstrang champions entered. She watched as the three of them as they made their way over to the Durmstrang section. Viktor and Rosa looked like they were ready for war, Dedrick on the other hand was just smiling a normal smile. Even if Alina did like him, Hermione thought the boy gave off a creepy vibe. She would never tell her friend that though.

"Champions, gather round please!" Beauxbatons giant, literally, Headmistress ordered as she and the other Headmasters entered the tent. Hermione, along with the rest of the champions, made their way to the center of the tent. "The audience has assembled and the stage has been set, which means it is time to begin," the Headmistress said in excitement.

"I was the Headmaster in charge of designing the first task and I will be the one to provide you with all of the information you need to be successful in this task. The first task will challenge your bravery, quick-thinking, intelligence, strategizing, and much, much more. This task is certainly not for the weak of heart and those who lack courage. The arena you are about to enter is a large triangle shaped area. The boundaries of the arena have been enchanted so that you will not be allowed to exit the arena during the task.

"Once I am finished providing all of the instructions, each team will be transported by portkey to one corner of the triangle. The area that you arrive at will be your team's base for the entire first task. At the center of each team's base you will find three things. The first thing you will notice will be an enchanted scroll box. Inside each scroll box is an enchanted scroll that contains a clue for the second task of the tournament. You will find that you will be only able to open other teams' scroll boxes and not your own team's box. Which means if your team wants a clue for the next task you must steal another team's scroll box.

"If at the end of the task your team's scroll box has been stolen your team will lose two points off your overall score. The scroll box is an optional objective in this task, you do not need to steal another team's scroll box to win. If you attempt to steal a scroll you do it only for the clue and to cause other teams to lose points, not to win the task. To complete the task, teams will have to make their way to the center of the arena.

"At the center of the arena teams will find three enchanted doors, each with the name of their school labeled on it. The team will enter their school's door and defeat the task that lies ahead of them once they have entered. Once your team defeats the task inside your enchanted door, your first task will end. Points will be awarded by we three Headmasters once every team has finished the task. If your team fails to defeat the task inside the enchanted door your team will be awarded zero points.

"Since you all have been deemed as the best of the best in your school we expect only the best out of you. Therefore I feel that this task would be too simple for you all under normal circumstances. So to make the task live up to the difficulty of the Triwizards' Tournament and to make you all push your own limits of magic even further this task has a special twist to it.

"Once you arrive at your base, two champions on each team must sacrifice their wands, meaning only one champion on each team will be allowed a wand during the first task. When you arrive at your base and decide on who is going to give up their wands, simply place the two wands onto the center altar at your base, they will be transported back to your rooms from there. You will not be allowed to leave your team's base until two wands have been sacrificed, so keep that in mind.

"You will find that next to each of your center altars there will also be three blank runes, a rune stave, and an empty potion flask. You may use and distribute these amongst yourselves however you like or chose to ignore them. The choice is up to you. Fireworks will go off at your location to signal that you have completed the first task, until you see the fireworks the task is unfinished. Now, time to begin," the Headmaster finished explaining and before Hermione could even finish taking everything in, their team was handed a shovel, which she assumed was their portkey.

"You will be transported any moment now. Good luck to you all!" Beauxbaton's Headmistress finished saying and turned to leave the tent with the other two Headmasters.

Hermione looked at Harry and Marik, both of which had smiles on their faces and looked ready to go. She smiled back at them and closed her eyes, allowing herself one more nervous breath before everything began. Just as she exhaled the last bits of nervousness inside her, her stomach lurched as the portkey activated and pulled her into it. Her body whipped through what always felt like thin, endless tubes, stretching and pulling at her until her world stopped spinning, and she landed on the ground.

All around them was a dense forest. Above them she could see only small bits of sunlight peeking through the canopy of thick leaves that were hundreds of feet over their heads. Their base was a fairly large area, that looked to be part of some ancient ruins or something. The base had a large stone circle as its floor and a few broken pillars along its border. At the center was a large stone rock, that somewhat resembled an altar, sure enough a scroll box was floating a few inches above it.

"Okay so what is the plan? And who is giving up their wands?" Marik asked as the three of them quickly gathered round.

"Real quick, just to make sure we all heard the same thing and are on the same page. To summarize everything she told us our main objective is to beat whatever lies beyond our enchanted door. We have the option to do a detour and steal another team's scroll, and we lose points if someone steals ours. Only one of us gets a wand, and we have three runes and a potions flask to work with too," she repeated to them, more so just wanting to repeat everything one more time for herself to think.

"Yeah, that sounds about right to me," Harry replied.

"Same here," Marik added.

"I already sort of have kind of a basic plan if you guys don't have any ideas," Harry told them.

"I don't," Marik replied.

"Go ahead," she told Harry, listening intently. Her mind was racing; she was amazed he was already able to think of a strategy under conditions like this.

"Right. So I think it is a no brainer Marik that you give up your wand. With your rune-tattoo magic you can basically cast the majority of the spells wandlessly and silently that you would need a wand for anyways."

"Good point. Okay, so who is the other person then?" Marik asked Harry.

"I think Hermione should keep her wand. Let's face it, she knows more spells than I do and who knows what spells could come in handy here. Plus, I don't need my wand for my _animagus_ transformation and I know a few wandless spells to get by, though I can barely put much power behind them."

"Are you sure Harry?" she asked him before he continued on.

"Yeah, I am. It works better that way with my strategy anyways. I think stealing another team's scroll box is a no brainer. If another team steals one and we don't, we will be at a clear disadvantage in the next task. So if you all agree with me there I will go on with my plan." Harry looked at them, waiting for an answer. She thought about it briefly. While stealing a scroll box was not the main objective he was right that it would help out overall in the tournament, even if it meant taking a little extra time in this task.

"I agree," she said after a few seconds.

"I'm game. Let's hear the plan, be quick though," Marik added.

"Okay, so listen closely we only have time to go over this once. Hermione you are going to start off towards the center of the arena on your own. I want you to put a silencing spell and any disillusionment charms you know on yourself. If you see any other people try to stay hidden and only get into an encounter if you absolutely have to. Once the enchanted doors are within your site get to a spot you can stay hidden in and wait for me. Also keep an eye out for any useful potions ingredients.

"I'm going to transform into my _animagus_ form and travel along the arena's border until I find another team's base. I can get there quicker than any of you can in my mountain lion form and probably a lot stealthier too. I will steal the scroll box and make my way back here to the base.

"While we are both doing that, Marik, you are in charge of defending our scroll and carving runes. You are our best duelist. So I think it is best that for the task you remain here to guard our scroll box against other champions, since you have the best chance of beating them in a one on one duel.

"We definitely can't afford to lose two points, so I think defending the scroll is crucial. I need you to also carve me and Hermione three runes before I get back here with the scroll box. When I get back you will give me the runes and I will give you the stolen scroll box to defend alongside our own scroll box. You're in charge of carving whatever you think could be useful, just have them done by the time I get back.

"Once I'm back at our base, Hermione, I will use my _legilimency_ to find you. When I find you we will brew a potion if we find enough ingredients, then make our way into our door. Marik you will keep guard still at this point. Everyone agree with my plan, or have any suggestions?" Harry asked the two of them.

She thought over his strategy quickly. It was a pretty good plan she thought. She was beyond amazed that he had somehow managed to come up with all of that so quickly. She had barely managed to even slow her breathing since they had arrived, let alone think of any plans. Her only worry with Harry's plan was if she came across someone or something along her trip to the center of the arena. If anyone did come across something though she figured it would be best if it was the person with the wand.

"I like it," Marik stated first.

"I think it is good. If we have any hiccups though Harry you are in charge of telling us through your _legilimency._ If you can't use that let's say two red sparks into the air if you are in danger. Harry you do one blue spark if you can't follow through on your part of the plan and Marik you do one green spark if you need help defending the scroll," she added, wanting to make sure they had a backup plan just in case.

"Sounds good. Everyone ready?" Harry asked the two of them, his eyes wandering between thiers'.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she replied confidently.

"Let's do this shit," Marik said with a grin.

"Okay, let's go," Harry said and they all were quickly off.

Marik and Harry ran to the center of their base and deposited their wands. The green aura around their base disappeared as they did. She saw Marik pick up the runes and was already carving into them as Harry shifted into his _animagus_ form and went sprinting off into the dense forest. She took note of the corner of their base and where the two boundary lines met and started off in a straight path away from it and into the forest.

" _Muffliato, dillusio,"_ she cast the two spells on herself quickly before she trekked any further forwards. The first spell would keep anyone, or anything, from being able to hear her as she moved. Her second spell was a disillusionment spell that would hopefully keep her unseen as she walked. The spell was a difficult one and, unlike Harry's cloak of invisibility, someone would be able to see her if they looked at her hard enough or long enough. Hopefully, that didn't happen though.

The underbrush of the forest was as thick as the canopy of leaves above her was. With no clear path to walk she was forced to move forward at a slow pace. Before even making it five minutes into her journey she had already had to pull four different briar branches out off of her robes, as well as pull herself out of a deep bog of mud. After using a water repellent charm on her robes and resorting to using a cutting spell on any large branches in her way the journey started to progress a little bit better.

It was hard to keep a clear mind and a focus on her surroundings though as she moved through the forest. Unlike in the summer dueling tournament when you knew exactly where your objective and target were, here you had no clue. It was easy to get frightened by a moving branch, snapping twig, or small animal running past. As she progressed deeper into the forest her mind found itself constantly wondering how Harry, and Marik were doing right now. She was curious to know what runes Marik had decided on carving, and nervous if Harry would meet any opposition on his journey to steal a scroll. She hoped to Merlin he didn't and would get to her soon.

It was difficult, but she tried to clear her mind of all her worries over her friends. She knew they were just as good, if not better, than she was, and that they would be fine. Still, out here alone in the forest it was hard not to worry. She fired off another cutting spell into a thick piece of brush that revealed a small clearing in the forest a good ten feet from where she was. She quickly hid behind a nearby tree trunk, not wanting to be seen. She felt a few butterflies start to flutter in her stomach as she peered out into the clearing.

The small clearing seemed to be, for the most part, empty, only a few scattered large boulders here and there seemed to occupy it. For a second she thought she may have made it to the center of the arena already, but after thinking about the angle of their base's corner and the distance she had traveled already that just didn't add up. Still, a few of the butterflies in her stomach started to relax. Well, they started to, once her eyes found their way to the far side of the clearing, though, the butterflies doubled their pace and grew horns, big fucking ones.

Standing on the far side of the clearing was a massive creature, that had to be at least fifty feet tall. After allowing herself a few moments of panic she attempted to calm herself down and tried to focus on figuring out what the creature was. Even from the distance between them she could tell the large creature was none other than a minotaur.

 _Fan-fucking-tastic!_

Minotaurs were known to be extremely rare and powerful creatures. The might and magical prowess of minotaurs was something that had been recorded and documented since many of the earliest magical civilizations. Some civilisations even called minotaurs gods based off their magical powers and abilities. The fact that one, and a very large one at that, was standing only around thirty feet from her was not a good thing. In fact, it was a very, _very_ bad thing.

The Minotaur's skin was a deep, blood-red color. Its horn, hoofs, and armor were the only things on the massive creature that was not red. The large creature with the head of a ferocious bull and the body of a giant was menacing. Its horns towered at least ten feet above the creature's head and seemed to glow in a bright enchanted white light. The minotaur had black and silver bracers on each arm, and a silver belt around its waist. Each of the creature's arms was probably the size of Hagrid, and had hundreds of veins the size of a person poking out through its skin.

The creature was truly terrifying. Even scarier than the beast itself was the large double-sided axe that the minotaur held in its hands. The large, black axe had to be just as tall as the minotaur was. Its blades reflected a bright light out into the clearing as the small rays of sunlight peaking through the canopy collided with it.

From what she knew about minotaurs they were classified as a level two beast, meaning that they were one of the toughest wild creatures you could come across in the wild, only being outranked by the rarer level one beasts. She also knew that all of the armor and weapons the minotaur wielded were most likely enchanted, though what specific enchantments they had in them were seemingly random.

Minotaurs were close range attacking creatures, who relied on their strength, horns, and weapons to kill their prey. They are extremely agile and fast creatures who get more aggressive the longer they are in a fight. All of this basically told her this was a fight she should avoid.

She withdrew herself from behind the tree trunk she was observing behind and decided that she would attempt to take the long away around the clearing to get to the middle of the arena. Her straight path to the center cut straight through the clearing, so once she made it to the opposite side she would be in the clear, hopefully. All she had to do was just quietly walk around the edge of the clearing, simple enough. Right?

Making it a point to take as much time as she needed to make sure she remained hidden, she slowly walked around the edge of the clearing, her eyes never leaving the minotaur as she crept forward. Her wand was clutched in her right hand, ready to fire off spells at any given moment. The minotaur seemed not to notice her though, and continued to fix its gaze on polishing its axe. Her luck ran out though when she made it about halfway around the clearing. With a terrifying roar the minotaur took its axe into both hands and started charging right at her.

 _How had it seen her?_ She immediately started to ask the question to herself, but quickly ended that thought as the minotaur got closer. She needed to do something, and quick.

 _Fuck, fuck fuck!_ She internally screamed in a panic.

" _Reducto, incarcerous!"_ She fired off two spells at the charging minotaur.

Her first spell was the powerful blasting spell, which she aimed directly at the minotaurs face. The large beast recoiled, but only slightly, as the spell collided directly on its snout. For the most part, however, the beast remained unfazed and continued on with its charge. With her second spell she summoned a flurry of thick ropes to start wrapping themselves around the legs of the creature. With a quick swing of its mighty axe though the creature sliced through all of her ropes and rendered her rope spell useless.

 _Fuck._ She thought to herself in another fit of panic. The large beast closed the gap between them and raised its axe into the air, ready to swing.

" _Aevumcorretro!"_ She focused as much a she could and cleared her mind as she used her difficult time-based magic spell.

Right as the axe started its downwards path the minotaur, along with its axe, vanished. Seconds later the minotaur appeared in the spot of the clearing where it had been when she had first seen it only minutes earlier. The beast looked confused as its axe collided with nothing but air. This gave her some time and space to work with.

" _Geminio, rensa maho!"_ She quickly, without hesitation, fired off two more spells at the confused minotaur. The first spell was one of her signature spells. All around the clearing she summoned over ten thought projections of herself. She saw the beast stare in even more confusion at the sudden increase in Hermiones around it inside the clearing. Her second spell was the powerful black chain magic spell. From each of the thought projections a large chain emerged and shot towards the minotaur.

The large beast in an instant swung its axe through the air cutting through at least six of the illusion chains. However her real chain found its target. In a flash she wrapped her chain around the large beast's large axe and pulled it from its grasp. Luckily, the beast was caught off guard and she was able to pull the axe away from the minotaur and swing it into the forest, a good fifty feet away from where they were now.

 _Okay. So now we don't have to worry about the ten story sharp axe, just the huge beast itself. . ._ With another roar of anger the beast started to charge again. She knew the longer this fight lasted the tougher it would become. She needed to try to end things as quickly as she could. With that in mind, she ordered the thought projection the minotaur had started to charge after, along with rest of her thought projections, to start running around the clearing, hoping to create a little more chaos. Not wanting to blow her cover, she also began running around the clearing, hoping this tactic would confuse the minotaur for awhile.

" _Reducto, azuflamen, aeriacta!"_ As she ran along with her thought projections she sent three more spells towards the large beast. Her real explosion spell collided with the beast's back and she could see a small scratch appear. Her next spell was a strong fire blast spell that collided with the back of the minotaur's legs. Although the beast kept charging at the same pace she could see blisters and burns appearing on the calves of the beast.

 _At least she was making a small dent_. The third spell in her chain was another strong explosion spell, this time an air explosion spell. With a loud pop, the air around the beast exploded and sent the minotaur to its knees.

However, it quickly got back up, this time looking more angry.

 _Damn. . . So much for plan A._

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	45. Book4: Chapter 7-1

**Harry**

It felt good to be out in the wild again. He had not been able to truly stretch his legs since the summer time, but now he had free range and could let loose as much as he pleased. The muddy ground felt natural beneath his paws, and the chilled air seemed crisper, with a smell of pure-nature to it. This was his environment; this is where he thrived. He couldn't help the snarl of pleasure that came out of his throat as he continued to run, loving every second of it.

Only a few minutes had passed since he had left Hermione and Marik back at their base. Thankfully, his journey so far had been fairly uneventful. In his _animagus_ form he was able to quickly navigate through the jungle of trees and shrubs and make his way along the border of the arena; hopefully towards another team's base. Moving was the easy part, the hard part was taming his animal instincts. A part of him wanted to chase after each rabbit and squirrel he saw along the way, but the other part was able to hold him back.

The forest was thick along the border of the arena. It made him wonder if the forest was this dense closer to the center of the arena as well, and if so, how Hermione was doing dealing with it. The more he thought about how Hermione might be faring the more it made him want to finish his task at hand and run off to her.

After about five more minutes of walking he noted that the trees had begun to thin out a slight bit, and there seemed to be a clearing in the forest a good fifty feet up ahead. Making sure to keep low and remain stealthy he silently crept forward. As he neared the clearing a horrid smell entered his lungs. Unable to see what was giving off this awful smell, he used his heightened sense of smell to try and see if he could tell what was giving off the odor just based off the smell itself. After a few seconds of trying though he gave up. The smell was too terrible to focus on what it could belong to and was making his head hurt. Taking his time to be quiet, he neared the edge of the clearing.

His claws began to poke out instinctively as he discovered the source of the foul odor. Sitting on a large tree trunk, a good thirty feet away from him, was a fully grown mountain troll. It looked to be a lot bigger than the one he had fought against with his friends back in their first year. Unlike the previous troll he had seen, this one was wielding two giant clubs, both of which looked to have protruding spikes emerging from their wood. One hit from those and you were in for some serious trouble, or you were dead.

A mountain troll was a tough creature, level three if he remembered correctly. However, in his _animagus_ form he could easily outrun the beast. There was no need for him to try and take the troll out, the longer he spent here the longer it would take him to get back to Hermione. He was about to start making his way stealthily around the clearing when an idea came to him. Flashing his large teeth in an almost sort-of-smile he slowly walked straight into the clearing.

Trolls are not known to be the smartest of creatures. In fact until the first dissection of a mountain troll's head back in 1745, many wizards believed that trolls may not even have brains. This one seemed to fit that stereotype quite well. Even with him out in the open and fully visible the mountain troll had not realised he was even there yet.

 _Guess I will have to be a little more obvious to get your attention for this to work._ He walked closer to the large troll and when he got within ten feet let out a loud roar at the beast.

After a few seconds the sound seemed to register with the mountain troll and the beast slowly picked up both of its clubs and began searching for the source of the noise. At last the troll's eyes landed on him in his mountain lion form and the beast started to charge at him. With step one of his idea in motion, Harry slowly made his way back towards the original path he was headed. Just as he hoped the mountain troll continued to follow him, not wanting to let a snack pass him by.

If Harry would have ran at full speed there was no way the mountain troll could keep up with him, so unfortunately, he was stuck having to move at a much slower pace as he made his way along the arena's border again. The good news was that the troll was making his path back to their team's base a much easier one. Each time the troll closed in on him it would swing both of its large clubs into the dense forest, clearing a wide enough path for it to run through. Harry would spring a few feet ahead, wait for the troll to catch up, and when it did he would repeat the process. After about eight minutes of this he started to get a little bored, but thankfully, he at last saw his destination.

He arrived into another clearing with a flurry of shattered wood flying through the air behind him. Checking his surroundings he quickly observed the base. He could smell a human's presence somewhere nearby, and sure enough standing near the center altar of the base was Beauxbaton's champion, Oliver Minoit. Oliver had apparently heard the loud commotion the troll had caused and looked ready to duel the champion, Harry assumed he was expecting, who had come to steal their scroll. If he had the time to, Harry would have stopped to smile and laugh when he saw Oliver's expression.

Instead of a champion emerging from behind the trees a fully grown mountain troll came charging in. Seeing that there were no more trees to smash the troll switched its target, now aiming at the nearby pillars of the base and the Beauxbaton's Champion. After a few seconds of being stunned by the troll's appearance, Oliver began to fire off spells wandlessly at the beast. This was Harry's chance.

Charging as fast as he could in his _animagus_ form, Harry sprinted full speed towards the scroll box. Thankfully, with the troll as a distraction he had enough time to approach it, pounce on it, and take the scroll box in between his teeth. Before Oliver could even realise that Harry had been there, taken the box, or that the troll was just a distraction, Harry was already running full speed back the way he came towards their starting base.

Thanks to path the troll had cleared, getting back was already going much quicker than his previous trek had. He was able to stay at top speed the entire way back to the clearing he had first found the troll in. Once there, he slowed down again, not wanting to risk getting caught by another beast or champion. After a few more minutes of the slow pace, he made his way back to their team's base, were thankfully their scroll box still remained untouched. Harry could not smell or see Marik though. In a flash of black magic, causing his hair to stand up, Marik emerged from the shadows next to him.

"Well done Harry," Marik told him, giving him a scratch behind the ear. As good as it felt he snarled at his friend for scaring him before shifting back into his human form.

"You scared the shit out of me," he confessed as he handed his friend the scroll box.

"Well, that was kind of the point. Anything I need to know before you take off?" Marik asked him as he handed him the three runes Harry had come back for.

"Oliver is dealing with a troll I left him at their base at the moment, other than that I didn't see anything or anyone else," Harry said, looking over the runes in his hands.

"You left him a troll? What does that even mean?" Marik said with a curious grin.

"A good story for later. What runes did you carve, I have to go so tell me quick?" he asked Marik, ancy to make his way towards Hermione.

"Right. One is an area power increaser. It will place a large enchanted circle on the ground around wherever you place it. As long as you are inside of the circle your spells will pack a little more punch. The other one is kind of the same thing but just give it to Hermione since she has the wand.

"As long as she has this on her person her magic will drain slower so she can throw out more spells. And the third one is an area shield. It is only a little stronger than your normal shield spell but will last a little longer," Marik answered him. Harry was always impressed by how Marik was able to carve runes so well, and these three were no different. It took skill to carve runes under this type of pressure without screwing up, even Harry, who had never carved a rune before he knew that much.

"Well done Marik. I'm off now, good luck defending the base," Harry told him as he put the runes into his pocket and headed off towards the center of the arena.

"You two just hurry up and finish this thing, I'm getting bored back here," Harry heard Marik joke as Harry pounced through a few trees and began to follow Hermione's scent.

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	46. Book4: Chapter 7-2

**Marik**

Marik found himself yawning again for probably the eleventh time that day since the first task had begun. He had been hoping in the days prior to today that he would get to see a lot of thrilling action throughout this task. So far the biggest threat to him the task had posed was when he sneezed randomly while carving the third rune for Harry and nearly messed up a line. He could just about imagine image how much hell Hermione would have gave him if he had been knocked out by his own exploding rune during the task because of a sneeze. He shook his head at the scary thought.

By this point in the first task all Marik had done was carve three runes, which had only taken a few minutes. The rest of the time he just waited inside one of the shadows of a pillar bordering their base with his shadow magic. He was sure Hermione had come across some action along her way to the center. The loud sound of spells colliding with something had echoed throughout the thick layers of trees after only a few minutes in. From the constant sound of spells that were still echoing throughout the trees whatever or whomever she had come across she was still dealing with. Hopefully she could deal with whatever it was or at least hold it off long enough until Harry got there.

It seemed that Harry had also had some action. Marik was excited to hear how on earth someone is able to _leave_ someone else a troll and was looking forward to hearing the rest of Harry's story later.

 _I want to leave someone a troll._ He thought to himself as he again fought the battle against boredom, which to this point had been his toughest opponent. Well, boredom and the yawning.

It took a lot of his mental strength to maintain focus whilst just remaining hidden motionless in the same spot for minutes on end. He desperately wanted to charge towards the center of the arena and help out Harry and Hermione. The prospect of a duel with another champion was the only thing keeping him from coming up with an excuse to get out of Harry's plan and do just that. Also, Hermione would kill him if he allowed someone to steal their scroll box, and the fear of that was enough to keep him from any sort of mutiny.

He started to count the stone bricks on the floor of the base around him after another few minutes of boredom. He made it all the way up to one-hundred-and-thirty-seven when he heard a twig snap from somewhere out in the forest. Not wanting to blow his cover, he remained hidden inside the shadow he was in, but carefully checked his surroundings. Whatever had snapped the twig apparently had realised that they had been too loud and were remaining hidden at the moment. He continued to patiently scan their base from his shadow, looking for anything out of the sort.

After a few moments of seeing nothing, though, a glimmer caught his eye, it was a disillusioned person, and a poorly disillusioned one at that. He smiled as it seemed he was finally, at last, going to get some of that action he had been craving.

 _Here we fucking go!_ He internally screamed in an excited anticipation.

As the somewhat invisible person crept further into their base his smile grew even wider. Even with the disillusionment charm on, the longer he looked at the figure the more he could make out who the person was. From the style of the robes, the person's height, and the length of the hair this invisible person was none other than Alina's boyfriend Dedrick, one of Durmstrang's Champions.

 _Oh I am going to so enjoy this._

Moving his shadow along the ground he slithered like the Slytherin snake he was quickly off towards Dedrick. Positioning his shadow behind the Durmstrang Champion, in a quick burst of a black-shadowy smoke he shot out from the shadow on the ground and into the air. Spinning himself as he rose in the air, he swung his body around until he landed a powerful kick at high speeds right into the back of the bastard's head. Dedrick's body lost its disillusioned effect and went flying a few feet across their base onto the ground landing with a loud thud as he collided with the cobbled stones. Marik quickly jumped back into the shadows before the giant ass could get back to his feet and see what had hit him.

Marik couldn't help the smile that had again come to his face as he watched Dedrick's confused expression as he turned around and did not see the person who had kicked him here. Marik lined his shadow up again, this time in front of the boy and readied himself. This time he would get a good punch in on the boy instead of a kick. He had been wanting to land a good punch on this asshole since the first time he had seen him and now was his chance to do it and get away with it.

 _After all he didn't have a wand on him, what else was he supposed to do._ He smiled at the good excuse to get another free melee shot on the punk and again shot out from his shadow in a burst of magic.

His fist landed square on Dedrick's nose and a loud crack echoed around them. Marik landed on his own two feet behind the boy and smiled as he watched Dedrick groaned out in pain. Marik could have cast a spell then and there quickly to end things, but he wanted to enjoy this a little longer. This may be the only action he might get today, he had the right to play with his food a little.

 _Sorry, but not sorry Alina._

" _Episkey."_ Marik heard Dedrick cast the healing spell on his nose in a muffled bloody tone as another snap rang through the air. The boy turned and faced him, his wand raised and his face bloody, looking pissed. Marik just grinned in return, enjoying this way too much. " _Rainovio_!" the Durmstrang champion angrily shouted the lightning storm spell at him. While the spell was a powerful one, and would send down at least ten powerful lightning bolts down towards him, it was a spell he could have easily dealt with even back in his third year.

Flitwick had used weather spells on him countless times during their dueling sessions. If Marik would have had his wand he would of just summoned a simple shield to block the bolts, but since he did not have his wand he went with the flashier approach of defense. As each bolt came crashing down to the ground Marik like a wisp of smoke turned and fell into the shadow's of the base and popped out somewhere else in the base. He did this with each crashing bolt and after each one his grin grew wider and wider as he watched Dedrick's face get angrier and angrier. The blood all over Dedrick's face from his previously broken nose only made things better.

When the last bolt of lightning struck the ground Marik lined up himself inside his shadows to make another attack. In another quick burst of shadow magic he sprung up behind Dedrick's ankles and did a spinning kick at the Durmstrang boy's feet. As Dedrick was tripped and began falling to the ground Marik popped back into his shadows and popped back out on the other side of the base. His cheeks were starting to hurt from grinning so much. He just stood there and waited for Dedrick to get back up to his feet, giving him a sarcastic yawn as the Durmstrang champion did.

 _Merlin's beard this was so much fun!_

" _Expulso, tempesta!"_ As soon as he was back on his feet Dedrick fired two more powerful spells his way. Marik focused his magic into his left arm, and specifically on his _sorbeo_ rune-tattoo. Just as Dedrick's explosion spell and high powered storm-magic spell closed in on him, instead of impacting with his body, his _sorbeo_ spell activated and both of the spells passed right through him, and collided with the forest behind him. Before Dedrick got off another spell Marik again focused his magic into his left arm, this time on his _rensa maho_ rune-tattoo.

A thick black chain conjured itself in his left hand and in a flash he sent it towards his opponent. The chain's end wrapped around one of Dedrick's arms. Marik swung the chain with all his strength and sent Dedrick flying across the base into one of the remaining ruin pillars.

The pillar exploded into dust and rubble upon the collision. Dedrick's body crashed with a loud snap again as it landed with a thud onto the ground.

 _Stand up please, stand up please, stand up please._ He thought hopefully to himself, wanting to have a little more fun with the boy. After a few seconds Dedrick thankfully stood up, Marik noted his left arm was hanging loosely from his side.

 _Oops._ He thought to himself, not really feeling sorry though.

" _Venomosio, acusio, displodo!"_ In a fury of rage the Durmstrang champion sent a powerful spell combo at Marik. The first spell Marik did not recognize, but the other two spells he knew well. A green, almost liquid like substance, shot at high speeds from Dedrick's wand with his first spell. Before it got close enough Marik focused his magic into the _protego-totalum_ rune-tattoo on his left arm and summoned a large shield around himself. The green liquid exploded around his shield and he could see as it landed on the ground that it was burning everything it touched like acid.

 _So we are playing dirty like that huh?_

If Dedrick's first spell wasn't a dirty enough spell, his second spell was a spell that Bellatrix Lestrange had tried to use on him. So that meant it _had_ to be considered a dirty spell, at least in his book. Hundreds of needles came flying at Marik like bullets. Marik just poured more of his magic into his left arm and kept his shield up around him as all of the needles collided with it along with Dedrick's third spell, which was a powerful burst magic spell. Marik winced a little at the impact of the powerful blast spell hit his shield but he managed to maintain his protection. After the third spell collided with his shield, Marik went back to work, ready to have some more fun with the poor boy.

Imagining the spell combo in his mind he poured more magic into his left arm. This time he had chosen to utilize his _silencio, incarcerous,_ and his offensive _umbrosio_ spells. He felt his arm begin to tingle with magic as the spells erupted out from his arm. The first spell was a silencing spell which interrupted the current spell Dedrick was trying to cast and would keep him from casting any more spells, unless Dedrick knew how to silently cast spells or break free from the _silencio_ spell. With the skill Dedrick was showing at the moment, the odds of him breaking free seemed slim to none.

With Marik's second spell he conjured ten ropes out of his hand that shot at incredible speeds to wrap themselves around Dedrick. As soon as the ropes finished wrapping themselves around the bastard Marik gave them a hard tug and pulled Dedrick towards him and into the air. Right as Dedrick got within five feet of him, Marik raised his left hand and released his offensive _umbrosio_ spell.

Though not as powerful as when he cast the spell with a wand, the offensive shadow-magic spell erupted a raging beam of dark, black magic from his hand, straight at Dedrick's chest. In a massive release of black magical energy, the spell collided square in the chest of the rope-entangled Durmstrang champion. Dedrick's body was sent flying backwards at high speeds into the depths of the forest. After Dedrick's body soared just out of Marik's sight, Marik heard a loud thud as Dedrick's body had apparently collided with something.

A loud audible sigh escaped his lips as he waited to see if Dedrick was down for the count or not. He stood there hoping that the champion had just a little more left in the tank and would walk out from the forest at any moment. Alas, though, it was not meant to be and once again the forest around their base had become quiet.

Giving himself a well deserved pat on the back Marik allowed the grin and smile that was sprouting on his face to let itself loose. After basking in the moment for a few more seconds he slipped back into his shadows, content with the action he had finally gotten and feeling more happy on the inside than he had all school year.

 _Time to count more bricks._

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	47. Book4: Chapter 7-3

**Hermione**

 _Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!_ She screamed out the words inside her head in panic as the Minotaur's large, flying fist somehow managed to barely miss her. A thousand shards of wood and leaf splintered into the air as the fist collided with a large tree behind her, decimating it in an instance.

She quickly ordered her two remaining thought projections to send dummy spells at the minotaur in hopes to draw its attention back to them. Thankfully, it worked.

 _Phew._

She had managed to just barely slow the path of the minotaurs incoming punch enough to give her some time to sprint away but that had been cutting it too close. She had to find a way to end this and quick, the minotaur was fully enraged now and if she spent much longer here she was toast, or perhaps a Hermione squash would be a better analogy.

 _Time for plan E._ She told herself and mentally prepared herself for another round of spells.

She looked around trying to find the best object to use for her plan, settling on a fairly large stone the minotaur had dug out of the ground with an earlier punch. After checking to make sure the minotaur was still distracted by her sprinting thought projections, she used two quick cutting spells to sharpen the edge of the rock like an arrowhead.

 _Okay Hermione, relax, you can do this._ She told herself as she focused her mind on her time magic. This spell chain may very well be her last with the amount of power it would take. She could not afford to miss or mess up.

" _Wingardium leviosa, aevumorbioduo, aevuminfinitorro!"_ With a clear mind and a steady hand she cast the most difficult time-based spell chain that she knew. Her first spell was the simple levitation spell which she used to carry the sharp rock across the clearing, near the minotaur's head. That part was easy enough; the next two spells were the tough part.

Her second spell resulted in more than fifty of the same sharp rock appearing in the air all around the minotaur's head. Each of the sharp rocks were numerous copies of the original sharp rock that she had produced. All of the newly produced rocks represented future possibilities of the first rock. Unlike copies made with her _geminio_ spell, each of the copies made with her _aevumorbioduo_ spell were the real deal.

The third spell, _aevuminfinitorro,_ was the most complicated and difficult spell in her time-based magic repertoire, especially when used in unison with her _aevumorbioduo_ spell. The spell caused its target to travel through time between two predetermined locations at high speeds, an infinite number of times. In this case her target was the large number of sharp rocks floating above the minotaur's head. With her magic she made each of the stones second location on the opposite side of the minotaur, meaning each stone would have to travel through the minotaur to arrive at its future spot on the other side. Keeping a clear mind, she finished the final pushes of magic needed to complete the spell and in a flash of magic and at high speeds all of the stones shot forward along their determined path.

She watched in awe as her magic worked; this being the first time she had ever used the spells like this outside of practice rooms. Each sharp rock shot back and forth between its two set locations, moving backwards and forwards through time. And each time they traveled, they shot through a part of the minotaur's body, sending chunks of flesh, bone, and blood out along with them. She watched as the minotaur fell to its knees and let out a loud gut-piercing roar as the sharp rocks continued to shred it apart.

As gruesome as the sight was, she was rendered awe-struck as she watched her powerful time-magic work. Large pieces of the minotaur fell to the grass at its feet with loud thuds as the minotaur became more holes than minotaur.

With one final roar the large minotaur fell to the ground with a crash, as it could not possibly survive any longer with now having literally thousands of holes carved into its body. With a wave of her wand she ended her time-magic spell and all of the sharp rocks stopped in their paths and then vanished. The one, original rock, fell to the ground at the last release of her magic. Hermione immediately fell to her knees, exhausted from all of the magic and energy she had used during the fight.

"Bloody hell Hermione! What the fuck was that?" a voice said from the edge of the clearing. Even though she was exhausted she quickly got to her feet, turned, and raised her wand at the source. She relaxed, and allowed herself to fall back to her knees with a smile as she saw that it was Harry.

 _Thank god he was safe._ She thought to herself at the sight of him.

Harry ran over to her when she fell to her knees again and took her into his arms.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" he asked her, his voice sounding concerned and his eyes looking worried. She just relaxed a little and enjoyed his touch for a few moments before answering.

"Yeah, I'm fine Harry, just exhausted," she answered, smiling at her best friend.

"You do realise right that you just took out a freaking _minotaur_ on your own Hermione? I just arrived at the clearing and was about to try and help when I saw you start whatever the hell you just did," Harry said, his voice raised in excitement. She blushed a little at his words.

"I am kind of a badass aren't I, taking a minotaur out on my own? Hermione Granger, the great Minotaur slayer!" she said playfully.

"It was hot as hell," Harry told her, causing her to blush again.

 _He had never called her hot before._

"What was that last spell? Was that your parallel worlds spell? I've never seen you do more than just a few different future possibilities before, that was like a hundred!"

"Yeah, it was, and that was the first time I did more than ten. I combined it with my infinite-journey spell. I'd say the combo is a pretty good one," she answered, proud at her work.

"It was freaking amazing, and kind of a terrifying combo. I don't think anything could have stood up against that Hermione," Harry said, complimenting her again.

"Thanks Harry. Did you get the scroll by the way?" she asked him, curious to know how his part of the task had gone.

"Yeah, I got it back to Marik easy enough, and brought Beauxbaton's champion Oliver a troll in the process," Harry answered her.

"How do you bring someone a troll? And had Marik had any troubles?" she asked, wondering what he meant.

"I'll tell you later, we need to keep going. And no he said that he had it pretty easy so far when I arrived. Here take these, and give me your wand real quick," Harry told her, and handed her a rune. She wasn't sure why he needed her wand but she handed it to him.

"What is this rune?" she asked while looking it over, trying to decipher it's carvings. She was sure if she examined it long enough she would be able to tell, but figured Harry could save them time if he just told her.

"Marik made that one specifically for you since you have the wand in the group. He said it will slow down the drain on your magic so you can cast more spells and last longer. _Curindus!"_ Harry cast the spell she recognized as the restore spell at her and immediately she felt a little bit better. "I couldn't get full results using your wand, but I didn't want you to waste any more energy. By the time we find our enchanted door with that and Marik's rune you should be close to full power again," Harry told her and handed her back her wand.

"Thanks Harry. Did Marik manage to carve any more runes?" she asked him as Harry helped her up to her feet.

"Yeah, he carved all three. The other two are area effect runes. One is a magic boost rune and the other is an emergency shield rune."

"Those will both come in handy I'm sure. I didn't even have time to look for any potion ingredients by the way, sorry," she apologized to Harry. The minotaur had took up so much of her time the thought of looking for ingredients had never even crossed her mind.

"It's fine. I was in such a hurry to get to you I forgot to take the potion flask from our base anyways," Harry said, laughing at his mistake.

"Oh well. Now let's get going," she said and started off, but then quickly realised she was so turned around from her duel with the minotaur that she had no idea which they were going. "Uhh Harry. . ." she said embarrassed.

"Yeah Hermione?" Harry asked her.

"I got so turned around in my duel, I don't actually know which way we should go now," she confessed to him and Harry laughed again.

"Don't worry I do. Come on," Harry said playfully, and started off towards the other side of the clearing. She followed his lead as Harry lead her through the forest.

As they continued on towards the center of the forest she certainly felt like with each step the forest somehow became denser. She had to take the lead with her wand after a few minutes so that she could cut a path wide enough for both of them to get through. She was sure Harry could have got through much easier in his _animagus_ form but he stayed in his human form to keep pace with her throughout their journey.

"Harry look," she whispered, pointing over a nearby tree stump ten feet in front of them. There was another small clearing, a little smaller than the one she had found earlier in the task in front of them. Sure enough at the center of the clearing were three doors, each one glowing from the enchantments placed on them.

"We made it," Harry whispered back. Hermione was just about to start off towards the doors when she caught a flash of blue in the corner of her. She quickly pulled Harry back behind a nearby stump as she looked for what had caught her eye was.

"Its Fleur and Weiss."

"Guess that means Oliver is still back at their base. Let's wait for them to go through, I don't want to risk having to get in a duel with them unless we have to," Harry whispered back to her. And the two of them waited anxiously, watching as the two French champions approached their doors.

"Do you think the doors have traps in them?" she asked Harry as she continued to watch the two girls.

"Looks like they are checking for that now," Harry answered her. Hermione could see Fleur with her wand out scanning over all sides of the door checking for any hidden spells. After a few moments both of the girls apparently found nothing and Weiss opened up the door. In the blink of an eye both girls entered the door and disappeared.

"Let's go!" Harry said and pulled her into the clearing. The two of them ran up to their door and Harry patiently waited as Hermione did a few spell checks just in case. After sensing that the door was clear Harry opened it and led the both of them in.

"HOLY FUCK HERMIONE WATCH OUT!" she heard Harry scream as he pushed her down to the ground. Her eyes had barely adjusted to wherever they had been transported to when a flash of blue light came hurling over their heads.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" she screamed out in a panic. She got to her knees as quick as she could with her wand raised and tried to look around and figure out what was going on and where they were. Her eyes went wide in panic as her eyes wandered around the area they were in. A fear unlike she had ever felt immediately set in as her eyes found what had sent the light their way.

When they entered through the door in the clearing they apparently had been transported into a large cavern. On their left, right, and backs were towering black cave walls that were dripping with streams of black water. The walls seemed to stretch endlessly up into the air until they disappeared into the blackness that was the roof. A good twenty-five feet or so in front of them the cavern's floor turned to murky water, and inside the water. . . She didn't even know where to start.

Inside of the water was. . . chaos. . . Five huge serpent heads that resembled a dragon were roaring at them. The huge dragon-like heads were perched on top of long scaly necks that resembled a snake's body. Each of the long necks was slithering around violently making it impossible to tell which neck belonged to which head. All she was able to tell was that at some point each of the necks seemed to close in on center point down in the water. Before she could observe any longer two of the heads fired off two enormous balls of blue magic at Harry and her. They both sprinted to the other side of the cavern and dove out of the way as the balls of magic collided into the wall behind them and seemed to disappear without an explosion.

"Harry it is a hydra!" she started to shout as they both got back to their feet. "And from the looks of its spell that just hit the wall the cavern walls are enchanted to absorb magic on impact or something!"

"If it is a hydra than that means we have to take out heads two at a time until we find each head's pair head. The main head will be invulnerable until both pairs of twin heads are taken out," Harry shouted back at her as Hermione tried to remember everything she had ever learned or read on hydras.

" _Protego totalum!"_ she shouted as two of the heads had shot forward towards the both of them. She sighed in relief as both heads recoiled in anger after colliding unsuccessfully against her shield. Her moment of relief disappeared quickly though as Harry again pulled her across the hall and they dove to the ground to avoid two more blasts of blue magic.

"Hermione start trying to hit the heads with blast spells and whatever else you got in you. The pain receptors for the head you hit should be in its twin's head so I'm going to try and find out what the pairs are. Don't worry about shielding me I can do my own shield wandlessly! And here!" Harry shouted at her and placed one of Marik's runes onto the ground. She watched as the ground around the rune started to glow with a gold aura, and she knew that any spells cast in that circle would have an extra bang to them. The problem was with this much chaos she wouldn't be able to stand still in the circle for long periods of time.

" _Glacia saggitas!"_ She quickly aimed the ice arrow spell at the head furthest to the right. Ten ice arrows shot like a bullet out from her wand and nailed the far right head right between the eyes. She had to quickly run and dive out of the way as the head she hit thrashed out at her in anger.

"Hermione that head's twin is one of these two on the far left, they keep switching, _protego,_ spots so I can't tell exactly which one though. Let me hit that one and you try and blast both of these at the same time!"

"Right then, SWITCH!" she shouted at him and began running towards his side. " _Protego totalum!"_ She threw up a shield when they both met in the middle of the cavern as three rays of blue magic came charging at them. Thanks to the magic boosting rune her shield was able to withstand the three blasts. As soon as the blue light ended they both continued to the opposite sides of the cavern.

" _Stupefy!"_ she heard Harry shout the spell wandlessly from his side of the cave. She raised her wand, not failing to notice while she did how much her arm was shaking from the nerves.

" _Diffindo, reducto, expulso!"_ She fired off three high powered spells, landing the first two spells on the furthest left hydra head and her last spell on the one next to it. The spell chain normally with as much power as she had put into it would have taken a lot out of her, especially after a long duel like she had had earlier, thankfully, thanks to Marik's energy rune in her pocket she still felt good to go.

Her first seam splitting spell along with the blast spell caused the hydra head to explode in a large release of blood and teeth. She recoiled as some of the flying teeth almost hit her. Her _expulso_ spell exploded a large chunk of skin on the other hydra's neck but for the most part did not faze the beast's rearing head at all.

" _Protego!"_ She threw up another shield as the head she had hit again charged in anger at her. She recoiled a little from the impact of the head on her shield but continued moving as it pulled back.

"We need a new plan Hermione look!" Harry said as they met back up in the middle, he was pointing at the head she had just blown up. She watched in horror as a smaller head began to protrude from the neck and grow back into its original size.

"What happened?" she asked, looking confused.

" _Stupefy_ is the strongest spell I can cast right now without a wand, and it had no effect on the head I attacked. You are going to have to hit both twin heads at the same time," Harry shouted back at her as they continued to sprint across the cavern.

" _Protego totalum!_ " She threw up the shield as another burst of blue magic flew at them. "How can I do that? They are too far apart!" she asked him, not hiding the panic in her voice.

"I will use my _legilimency_ to create hallucinations and put thoughts into some of the heads and try and buy you some time. You use your _geminio_ spell to add the confusion. Order them to spread out as much as possible and you try to cast as many spells from inside of Marik's rune as you can," Harry shouted his plan at her. For the second time that task she was amazed at how he was able to think of a strategy in a time like this.

"Okay, go!" she shouted and ran off towards the middle of the cavern where Marik's rune was. " _Geminio!"_ She cast the thought projection spell and summoned fifteen different Hermione thought projections around the cavern. She ordered each of them to spread out and move around in their areas, she would make sure each time she fired off a spell that all of the projections would follow suit.

" _Legilimency!_ " she heard Harry shout his spell from somewhere else in the cavern as she ran. When she arrived inside the rune's area of effect she raised her wand at the far right head again.

" _Reducto, diffindo!_ " She fired off the rune-boosted spells at the far right head. In another chaotic gruesome eruption the head exploded as her blast and seam splitting spell collided with the beast. She didn't waste anytime to celebrate though, but instead, she quickly bolted to the left side of the cavern where she knew the twin head had to be somewhere.

" _Displodo, reducto, diffindo, reducto!_ " She fired off the powerful and difficult spell chain as she ran, aiming the first two spells at the far left head and the next two spells at the head right next to it. Her first _displodo_ spell was a strong burst-magic spell that along with the powerful _reducto_ blast spell was more than enough to explode the large hydra head on impact.

" _Protego!"_ As she turned to look at her spell results on the second head she threw up another shield just in time before a burst of blue magic along with a charging head came straight at her. As both the spell and the beast's head collided with her shield she was able to see that her third spell, the seam splitting spell, along with her last blasting spell were also enough to explode the second head she had aimed at. She started to run back towards the center.

"That worked Hermione! Good job! Three more to go!" Harry shouted at her from across the cavern. " _Protego!_ " She heard him throw up another shield. "They are starting to get immune to my _legilimency_ Hermione so hurry or things are going to get a lot tougher."

"Right!" she shouted back as she arrived at the center of the cavern again. From their strategy she knew she would have to find the next two pairs of heads to defeat before they could take out the final hydra head. One of the hydra heads on the left side had already begun to regrow, since its twin head was still active among the sea of necks and heads. Deciding with the quickest strategy of finding the last remaining twin heads that she could think of she raised her wand.  
" _INCARCEROUS MAXIMA!_ " she screamed out the rope spell, forcing as much of her magic as she could into it. Thanks to Marik's rune, Hundreds of ropes shot out from her wand and she carefully aimed them with precision. Rope after rope found its way around each remaining head of the hydra. As the last few ropes coiled around their targets she pulled all of the ropes towards the center of the cavern, gathering all three remaining heads as close together as she could manage. She allowed herself a brief second to clear her mind and ready herself for what she was about to do.

" _REDUCTO, AEVUMORBIODUO!_ " Again with as much magic as she could muster she sent two more powerful spells directly at the three gathered heads. Even with Marik's replenishing stone in her pocket the amount of magic she had used in her last three spells had almost drained her completely. With her first spell she mustered up as big of a blasting spell as she could manage, her second spell was where the real drain on her magic kicked in.

Again, for the second time this task, she used her parallel worlds time-magic spell. Aiming at her _reducto_ spell she created two other future possibilities of her powerful blasting spell. The result was three of her maxed powered _reducto_ spells being sent at the hydra, one for each head. From the loud explosion spell on impact she didn't even need to see the heads to know that her spells had been enough to explode at least two more heads.

"HERMIONE WATCH OUT!" she heard Harry scream as he collided with her body. Harry almost knocked the wind out of her when he grabbed her body and dove with her to the ground. Getting the wind knocked out of her was the last of her problems though. As she spun towards the ground in Harry's arms a single powerful beam of blue magic collided with her right arm extended upwards into the air. The pain that followed was immediate.

"AHHHHH!" she screamed out in the worst pain of her life. She looked down at her arm and saw bubbling burns all over her skin. If that wasn't bad enough she could tell from the blood, and pieces of bone sticking out of the skin that her arm was certainly broken, and badly too. Her body involuntarily thrashed around on the ground in reaction to the pain.

"Hermione!" she heard Harry shout, and through the gaps of pain in her vision she could see that he had placed Marik's emergency rune-shield around them. "Give me your wand, Hermione!" Harry shouted. She was in too much pain to react though. After a brief moment though she felt him grab her wand out of her burnt and broken hand.

"H-h-harry, my-y wand-d-d h-h-and. . ." she screamed out through tears and shots of pain, trying to tell him that it had been her wand hand that was injured.

"I know Hermione, I know. . ." she heard Harry say, even in her pain she could sense cracks and tears behind his voice. "Hermione I'm so sorry!" Harry told her as he shouted, she felt a tear from his eyes fall onto her face.

"W-w-hat's w-w-r-rong?" she asked, concerned about what he was apologizing for and worried her injury was worse than she knew.

"I'm sorry for this. . . _stupefy!"_ Harry cast the stunner and in a flash of red light her world to black as she was knocked unconscious.

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	48. Book4: Chapter 7-4

**Harry**

The time for feeling guilty, apologizing, and tears was later. For now he needed to focus at the task at hand or things would end up a lot worse. Making sure Hermione's body was entirely inside Marik's emergency shield and knowing that it would only last for probably somewhere around two minutes at most he set off, out of the shield with Hermione's wand in hand.

" _Protego!_ " He threw up another shield as the last remaining head of the hydra sent a much more powerful than normal beam of blue magic at him. His shield vibrated at the sheer force of the impact. With only one head remaining the hydra would still be just as powerful as it had been before, since all of its magic would now be concentrated into a single head. Thanks to his lessons in care of magical creatures with Hagrid, he also knew that hydra's became much more aggressive with each head that it lost, which was a bad thing for him. Especially since while he was using Hermione's wand none of his spells would be fully powered. At least he could cast more spells than he could before, and more importantly, he could now cast spells with a little more power with her wand than he could wandlessly.

As the last few beams of blue hydra magic left his shield he continued sprinting to the middle of the cavern until he arrived at Marik's magic booster rune. He waited and readied himself for the beast's next magic attack. As soon as he saw a spark of blue he sent his spell combo off.

" _Speculum, diffindo, fulminous, REDUCTO!_ " As he sent off his spells Harry tried to put as much of his magic through Hermione's wand as he found possible. As the hydra's burst of blue magic came storming towards him he summoned a mirror right in front of himself with his _speculum_ spell and sent the burst of blue magic right back at the hydra. As the hydra recoiled on impact from its own spell it found itself unable to dodge against Harry's next three spells.

With his _diffindo_ seam splitting spell, he hoped to create a large enough gash to do some serious damage with his next two spells. It seemed to work for the most part as a long stream of dark red blood shot out of the hydra's neck just as his _fulminous_ spell collided with the water. The _fulminous_ spell was actually a spell he had went out and learned after seeing Beauxbaton's champion Fleur perform the spell in her duel with Marik before their second year.

The _fulminous_ spell sent a jet of lightning-based-magic out of the user's wand towards their target, which in this case was the water around the hydra. The hydra let out a painful roar as the water all around it was flowing with electricity resulting in its body being shocked over and over again. Harry mentally crossed his fingers as his last _reducto_ spell closed in on the beast's neck.

He had put all he could into the mighty blast spell. Even with using Hermione's wand and not being able to achieve all of his power he hoped that while casting inside Marik's magic-booster-rune that the spell would be enough to end this. He watched with bated breath as the spell exploded into the gash on the beast's neck. In an explosion that hurt his ears and shook his bones, the cave was filled with one final roar from the hydra before the beast's neck exploded, releasing blood in all directions as the final head landed with a splash into the water it came from.

 _They did it._ He thought to himself, allowing a celebratory smile at their achievement.

He jumped backwards scared, with Hermione's wand raised as fireworks went off in the cave, signaling that they had in fact finished the first task.

 _Hermione!_ He screamed inside his head and hurried off towards his best friend, who was still lying unconscious inside the shield rune.

" _Rennervate!"_ He cast the counter spell to stupefy on his best friend and quickly found a spot on the ground next to her.

"OWWWW!" Hermione screamed again as she came back to consciousness.

"I'm so sorry Hermione," he tried to apologize, unable to hold back the pain he felt that was brought on by seeing Hermione in so much pain. " _Legilimency!"_ He cast his mind magic spell and tried to focus as he barely entered into the edges of Hermione's mind.

 _You are not in pain, there is no pain, you feel no pain._ He whispered into her mind. He watched her nervously as he sat beside her, hoping to see her body relax and her pain die down. After a few moments, his _legilimency_ seemed to work and Hermione's thrashing stopped, and her eyes finally opened.

"Hermione!" he said excited, a rush of happiness overcoming him at seeing her wake up and her eyes find his.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Hermione shouted at him and before he could react her good hand smacked him clear across the face with a loud _slap_ sound _._

"OW!" he shouted as he recoiled in pain. "What was that for?"

"For fucking stunning me at point blank range you fool! As if having a burnt and broken arm wasn't painful enough!" she shouted angrily back at him.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I just didn't want you to be in pain. . ." he said, trying to apologize again.

"When we get back to the castle you are learning a numbing spell!" Hermione shouted at him again. He couldn't help but smile at her after a few seconds of not breaking eye contact with her.

"Of course, oh great minotaur slayer!" he said playfully, not being able to contain himself from laughing at the moment. After a few seconds Hermione joined in, though she still looked to be in some discomfort and pain. When her laughing died down he saw Hermione look around the cavern.

"You did it!" Hermione said at last in excitement, only just now realising the hydra was gone.

"No Hermione, you did it. I just finished your good work. You were by far the MVP for this task," Harry told her honestly. Hermione had taken out a minotaur on her own, and practically slain the hydra almost entirely on her own. He had just helped a little with distracting it and doing the final touches.

"You're damn right I was!" Hermione said smugly. "Just kidding. That was so amazing though! I can't believe me and you just beat a fucking Hydra!"

"I can't either," Harry replied, not really sure he still believed what they had done.

"We are amazing!" Hermione said, plopping herself back onto her back and laying on the ground. Harry followed her lead and laid down next to her.

"Yeah, we are," Harry replied with a little laugh.

"No seriously Harry. _We_ are amazing!" Hermione said again. He turned his head on the ground to face her, not failing to notice the emphasis she put on her words.

Both of their eyes met as his head turned towards hers. He found himself staring into her deep, chocolate-brown eyes as hers stared back at his with an intensity and fire that he had never seen in them before. For a silent moment the two of them just laid there next to one another, neither one of them breaking eye contact with the other. The only sound in the cavern was their breathing and the soft beating of two increasing heart rates. It wasn't before long that he knew he couldn't hold back any longer, he had already held it off for much-much too long.

His body, following on what felt like instincts, carried his head forwards towards Hermione's. He closed his eyes as his lips landed onto hers, and prayed to the magic gods that she did not pull away from him. Instead of retreat, he felt her lips push onto his, her soft, tender, and warm lips pressing harder against his.

The world around him felt like a frenzy of emotions more chaotic than any part of the task had been as their lips embraced each other, neither of them seeming to want the moment to end. Feeling courageous he pressed his mouth harder against hers, wanting more, and ready to know the taste of her tongue he pressed it against the part in her lips. But before he could move any further he felt his body being pulled through what felt like a tube, being bent and stretched before landing on the ground.

"Medical team over here now!" a voice shouted around them, drawing him out of his lust and love filled daze.

As he opened his eyes he saw the three Headmasters and other champions all around them. It appeared he had been brought back into the tent where they had waited for the tournament to start. His eyes wandered around trying to find Hermione. When he found her he could see that she was already being placed onto a magic stretcher, and hospital workers were already tending to her arm.

Next to Hermione were two other magic stretchers, both with bodies laid on them. He arched his neck to see who they were, worried one might be Marik. The body next to Hermione's looked like hell. There were bruises all over the body, along with blood, cuts, and what looked like rope burns. Through all the damage he could tell that it was a boy, thankfully not Marik though. As he looked closer it appeared that the boy's left arm was also broken quite badly. Whatever the boy had gone up against, he apparently had not won, he looked almost dead.

"So how mad do you think Alina will be at me?" a voice said from beside him and he felt an arm wrap around him as he turned his head. It was Marik.

"What do you mean? And yes we finished the task by the way," Harry asked, after giving his friend a long hug and rolling his eyes that Marik's first comment was about Alina being mad and not about how he and Hermione had fared in the task.

"Well I figured you finished the task alright enough, seeing as we are all here. And that's Dedrick next to Hermione. Bastard tried to steal our clue scroll right after you left. Think Alina will ever talk to me again?" Marik answered him. Harry noted the accomplished smile on his friends face.

" _You_ did all _that_ to him? Fuck Marik, what did you hit him with?" Harry asked, worried by the shape of Alina's boyfriend that Marik may have overdone it _just_ a little.

"My foot twice, my fist once, and a few other spells," Marik said laughing. "What happened to her?" Marik asked, his eyes locked on Hermione.

"Got hit by a hydra's magic beam," Harry answered as he watched the medical staff work on Hermione.

"A HYDRA? You guys fought a fucking Hydra?" Marik shouted loudly in disbelief. A few people in the tent turned to look at the two of them.

"Yeah, that was what was behind our door. Hermione took out a full grown minotaur too on her own before I showed up and basically killed the hydra all on her own."

"What? Holy shit man, that's incredible. I can't believe I missed out on both," Marik said still in disbelief as he crossed his arms in frustration.

"Looks like you got to have some fun too though."

"Don't tell Alina how much I enjoyed it. Man, a freaking minotaur and a hydra!" Marik said, shaking his head in disbelief again. "Who is body number three?" Marik asked him as they both tried to see who was person on the third magic stretcher.

"Looks like Viktor Krum," Harry answered after he got a good sight of the Durmstrang boy sprawled out. The boy's shirt was ripped open and from where they were standing all Harry could make out was a lot of blood.

"Okay, Madame Kirkins take these three to the hospital wing. The remaining Champions gather round!" Durmstrang's Headmaster announced, and the remaining champions in the tent made their way over to the three Headmasters. Harry was starting to feel how sore his legs were for the first time as he walked and used Marik's shoulder as support. Beauxbaton's Headmistress stepped forward to address them.

"Congratulations to all three teams for completing the first task of the Triwizards Tournament successfully. You all put on one of the most entertaining and amazing spectacles of magic that the tournament has ever seen. You should all celebrate your victory and achievements tonight, but do not celebrate too much, for this is only the first stepping stone in the tournament.

"Now, just a quick few words on your performance in the first task. Beauxbatons Academy was the first to finish the first task, having defeated the Hungarian Horntail behind their door in the quickest time. Hogwarts was the second team to finish the task, having defeated their Pacific Hydra a mere fifteen seconds after Beauxbatons defeated their dragon. Durmstrang Institute was the last to finish the first task, having defeated their Ground Golem three minutes slower than both other teams.

"Hogwarts was the only team who managed to steal another team's scroll box, meaning that they will be the only team rewarded with a clue before the second task. The scroll box was stolen from the Beauxbatons base, meaning that Beauxbatons will have an automatic two points deducted from their total score.

"Out of all the teams, Durmstrang Institute suffered the most injuries, Hogwarts the second most, and Beauxbatons Academy the least with only person obtaining a small bruise. You will now be rewarded scores based off of your performance on the round from each Headmaster. The final score will be averaged out, and any deductions will take effect after the final average is given.

"For Durmstrang Institute these are your scores. I award a six," Beauxbaton's Headmistress announced.

"I award them a seven," Durmstrang's Headmaster added. He looked angry at the score he had awarded his own school with. Harry was unsure how good or bad the scores were at this point though.

"I also award them a six," Dumbledore announced.

"For Hogwarts, I award an eight," Beauxbaton's Headmistress announced to them.

"I also award them an eight."

"I also give Hogwarts a score of eight," Dumbledore announced, and smiled at both he and Marik. Harry listened on intently as the Headmasters announced the last team's scores.

"For Beauxbatons Academy, I award a nine," The giant Headmistress proclaimed with a huge smile.

"I award Beauxbatons an eight," Durmstrang's Headmaster announced, again looking angry.

"I award Beauxbatons with a nine," Dumbledore added.

"With those scores the ranking is as follows: Beauxbatons is in first with 8.7 points, Hogwarts in second with an even 8 points, and Durmstrang in third with 6.3 points. However, when we subtract the two points from Beauxbatons for having their scroll box stolen it brings the scores to Hogwarts in first with 8 points, Beauxbatons in second with 6.7 points, and Durmstrang in third with 6.3 points," Durmstrang's Headmaster announced to the champions, looking upset that his school was in last.

"First place!" Marik shouted and jumped to give Harry a hug. Harry returned the hug, a little in disbelief that they had come out on top. He wanted to run to the hospital wing to tell Hermione.

"Congratulations to you all again for a great performance. Enjoy it while you can. The second task will be on the second day of January. You may all leave now, except the Hogwarts team," Dumbledore announced to the group of champions and a groan echoed through the tent at the mention of the next task. Everyone except he and Marik exited the tent. The three Headmasters waited until the last champions left before turning to talk to them.

"Well done on stealing a scroll box in this task. Because of this you are the only team who will receive this clue," Dumbledore started to tell them. "Your clue for the next task is as follows:

 _Scores of doors line my halls,_

 _Each with something special within their walls,_

 _The mystery should be one of your fears,_

 _What's left unsolved could end your years,_

 _When you find the missing piece,_

 _You should worry about yourself the least,_

 _Because, when you look into the mirror who do you see,_

 _But of course, it is I, your greatest enemy._

Good luck." Dumbledore told them with a final twinkle of his eyes before turning, and leaving the two of them alone inside of the tent tired and now very much confused.

* * *

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	49. Book4: Chapter 8

**Alina**

"Okay dear, you can come in now," one of Durmstrang's nurses told her as the door to the hospital wing opened.

"Finally! Thank you," she said and quickly bolted past the nurse and into the hospital wing. There were quite a few beds inside, most were void of students, but she could make out at least four beds that were occupied and one other with its curtain's drawn. After some frantic searching to spot her friends she eventually found them at the far end of one of the row of beds.

"Hey guys!" she shouted when she got right behind Harry and Marik. She could not help but laugh a little as they jumped a little in fright. They could fight a hydra, troll, and minotaur but someone sneaking up behind them was somehow still scary.

"Holy Hell Alina!" Marik shouted as he turned around to see that it was her that had scared him.

"How is she doing?" she asked her two friends as she leaned in between them to take a look at the unconscious Hermione laying on the bed. Thankfully, Hermione didn't look as bad as Alina had expected her to.

"Nurse says she should wake up any minute now from the sleeping draught they gave her. She will be fine in no time though, the burns will heal within the week, and two weeks at most for all of the bones to heal," Harry answered her. It made her happy to see him sitting beside the bed with Hermione's good hand in his, even if Harry was oblivious to everything that his actions meant.

"I'm surprised things didn't end up worse, her arm took the full brunt of that last hydra's spell," she replied, looking over the damage on Hermione's arm.

"Even you got to watch it too? Man I missed out," Marik pouted.

"How did you get to see it?" Harry asked her.

"They had a bunch of screens set up in the dining hall for us all to watch the task on. There was a camera on each of you so we got to see almost everything for the most part. Congratulations by the way," she answered, grabbing an empty chair next to the other side of the bed.

"Thanks," Harry replied.

"Thanks Alina," Marik added with a smile.

"So how did we do?" Harry asked her opinion.

"You guys honestly did the best I think since you were the only team who managed to steal a scroll. Though Beauxbaton's was close behind and handled their dragon a lot easier than you and Hermione handled the hydra," she started to answer. "Do you want the long synopsis or short synopsis?"

"We want the long, but wait a sec it looks like Hermione is waking up. I'm sure she will want to hear everything too," Harry told her and moved closer to the now moving Hermione.

"Ugghhh," was the first thing Hermione said as her eyes slowly opened.

"Welcome back Hermione," Harry greeted their newly awoken friend.

"How you feeling oh mighty minotaur slayer?" Marik joked, the groggy Hermione seemed to find it funny and was giggling a little, though might have been due to the aftereffects of the potion she had been given..

"I knew I liked you Marik," Hermione said to Marik with a smile. "And I feel pretty darn good, which I guess means I'm drugged up good."

"Yeah, you are. I'll go over your potion schedule with you later when you are a little less loopy," Harry said playfully.

"Thanks Harry. And Marik, congrats! I never got the chance to tell you," Hermione said turning to look at Marik.

"Thanks 'Mione. The congrats this round belongs to you though, From what Harry told me you were the MVP for sure."

"Thanks Marik, and I know! Hey Alina! How did we do?" Hermione asked her. Alina laughed at how ditzy Hermione was acting.

"Hey Hermione. And I was actually just about to give the guys a rundown of everything I saw, do you want me to tell you now, or wait for the drugs to wear off?" she asked her friend.

"Tell us now! I wanna hear!" Hermione shouted. Of course Hermione had to know everything then and there.

"Okay, well like I was saying, overall you guys did the best out of the teams. Beauxbatons was the only team that decided not to go for another team's scroll and was on pace to finish a lot quicker than everyone else. However, Fleur and Weiss had to fight a tough cerberus halfway to the center of the arena and that slowed them down a lot.

"Fleur and Weiss are a great team though, so you guys need to keep an eye out for them. I think they may have earned more points just based off their teamwork alone. They finished the last part of their task a lot quicker than you did, but they were a little slower dealing with the cerberus than Hermione was with the minotaur. Harry your strategy with leading a troll to their base in your _animagus_ form was bloody brilliant too. It took Oliver a good five minutes to deal with it without his wand," she started to explain.

"So that's what you did. Ha ha ha, I would have paid to see the look on that guy's face when a troll showed up out of nowhere!" Marik said through laughter.

"Trust me, it was priceless," Harry added looking proud.

"Durmstrang on the other hand did the worst out of everyone, and honestly they were lucky to have finished the task at all," she said to her friends.

"Was Dedrick mad?" Hermione asked her.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him yet. I wanted to hang out with you guys for a bit before I went over to his bed. Figured he would need some time to cool off," she answered Hermione. Honestly, she figured Dedrick would not be in the best of moods to at the moment and was dreading going to see him a little bit.

"He is in here? What happened?" Hermione asked her. Alina noticed Marik backed away from her at Hermione's question. "Why are you backing away like that Marik?"

"Just want to get out of range from Alina's fist," Marik answered. She saw that he was staring at her looking frightened, she just shook her head at him.

"Why would I hit you Marik?" She asked him, wondering what on earth he was talking about.

"Uhh. . . I figured you would be mad at me for beating up your boyfriend. . ." Marik mumbled his answer, he looked seemingly in disbelief at the fact that she was not angry.

"You are dense. I would never be mad at you for beating someone in a duel. Dedrick was a moron for thinking he could beat you one on one with a strategy like the one he took. And to answer your question Hermione, Durmstrang sent Dedrick after your team's scroll box. When he got there, to be honest, Marik kicked his ass pretty hard," she answered Hermione.

To be honest Dedrick got what he deserved in that fight, and to be blunt he had it coming. She felt that way even if he was her boyfriend. On their last date Dedrick had gotten so jealous when she told him that at one time she had had feelings for Marik. Since then Dedrick had gotten an ego the size of Hogwarts and would not stop saying how he was going to make Marik look like a fool in the first task, and prove to her that she got the better wizard in the end. In the end though, Marik made Dedrick look like a muggle. Dedrick should've known it would not be easy going up against Marik, who was a three time-defending dueling champion and a year ahead of him. And Marik certainly proved that point to be true.

"You put her boyfriend in the hospital! What did you do Marik?" Hermione shouted at Marik angrily. Alina smiled at Hermione's attempt to defend her.

"Uhh just hit him a little here and there. . . And you're welcome for defending the scrolls!" Marik answered in a mumbled tone uncomfortably.

"He kicked him in the back of the head, broke his nose with a punch, kicked out his feet and tripped him, chained him up and then threw him into a pillar with said chain breaking his arm, and then tied him up with a bunch of ropes, pulled him within point blank range, and then blasted him with a high powered shadow spell, which sent him flying through the forest where he was cut hundreds of times by branches and impaled in the leg by a large log to be exact," she answered, enjoying how pale Marik's face got the more she went on. Marik backed up away from her again which annoyed her.

"Marik stop it! I get that you don't like Dedrick and you went hard on him because it was personal to you, it was personal to him too. You are my friend and I wanted you guys to win, if you had gone easy on him because he was my boyfriend _then_ I would have been pissed at you," she shouted at him. The color in his skin returned a little at her words.

"Well at least you kept the scroll box from being stolen. Alina what did you think of our performance?" Hermione asked her again, apparently the potions were messing with Hermione's short term memory.

"You guys did awesome," she laughed as she repeated herself. "Especially you Hermione. Your time-magic against that minotaur was mental! Everyone watching had to pick their jaws up off the floor and Flitwick wouldn't stop bragging about you afterwards. And I thought McGonagall was going to die when she saw you guys up against the hydra, but after a few minutes even she admitted your strategy was brilliant," she answered Hermione, drawing smiles from all of her three champion friends.

"Oh that reminds me Hermione, Dumbledore gave us the clue for the next round already," Harry turned to tell Hermione.

"Ooh what is it?" Hermione asked excitedly, sitting up in her bed.

"Wait," Marik put up his hand stopping Harry before he could continue. "Alina if you hear this you aren't going to go tell Dedrick are you?" Marik asked her. This time she immediately stood up and gave him a hard punch on the shoulder.

"You are an idiot Marik! Of course I'm not going to tell him! How bad of a friend do you think I am?" she asked him, angry that he thought she would stoop so low.

"Sorry, just checking. I don't know what the two of you do or talk about, or how close you are. I'm just looking out for the team," Marik argued. She just continued to glare at him, making him shift around nervously in his seat.

"Okay, so here is the clue:

 _Scores of doors line my halls,_

 _Each with something special within their walls,_

 _The mystery should be one of your fears,_

 _What's left unsolved could end your years,_

 _When you find the missing piece,_

 _You should worry about yourself the least,_

 _Because when you look into the mirror who do you see,_

 _But of course it is_

 _I, your greatest enemy,"_ Harry whispered the riddle and immediately Alina found her mind racing in an attempt at trying to solve it.

"Hmm. . ." Hermione started to say. Alina could already see the cogs turning inside Hermione's mind, thinking of what the clue meant. "We will have to do some research on the riddle and see if you can find any of the lines in anything else. All I got right now is that it is probably going to be some sort of a puzzle."

"Why you figure that?" Harry asked her, looking impressed that a drugged up Hermione had still come to a conclusion quicker than anyone else.

" _When you find the missing piece._ Sounds like an obvious find the puzzle pieces to me," Hermione answered him.

"Hmm, maybe. We will start looking stuff up tonight. The sooner we solve it the better," Marik told Hermione.

"Okay, well I know where I want to look first!" Hermione said and started to try and get out of her bed.

"Oh no you don't. You are to stay in this bed for at least two days. Doctor's orders," Harry told Hermione as he put her back under the bed's covers.

"What? But I feel fine!" Hermione tried to argue.

"And I am so happy that you do, but you won't win this. Especially after all the times you made me stay in the hospital wing!" Harry told Hermione playfully.

"Isn't even a doctor. . ." Hermione mumbled out as she pouted under her covers. Alina couldn't help but laugh at her friend.

"Are you guys about to go to the library then?" she asked Marik and Harry.

"I just want to rest but I guess we should before dinner time," Marik said, shrugging at Harry to see if he agreed.

"Well I'll be up there in a minute too, I wanna help however I can. I'm just gonna go be a good girlfriend for a few minutes first and say hi to Dedrick," she said, standing up.

"Alright see you in a bit," Harry called as she turned and headed over to Dedrick's bed. As she headed for Dedrick's bed she figured her boyfriend was not about to be in a the best of moods, the curtains pulled around his bed only helped to confirm that.

"Hey Dedrick," she said with a smile as she made her way inside the curtain and saw that his eyes were already open.

"Hey," Dedrick answered her without even making eye contact. He looked even worse up close in person than he had looked through the camera. His arm was entirely covered in bandages, his nose was beyond swollen, and the rest of his body looked like hundreds of angry cats had scratched him. She couldn't even see his left leg through all the wrappings and dressings on it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Fucking great," Dedrick answered sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, not sure what else to say. She grabbed his hand as she sat down next to his bed, trying to make him feel better.

"I bet you are. I swear the next task if I get the chance I am going to rip that kids face off," Dedrick said in anger. She could feel the venom in his voice.

"Dedrick don't say that."

"I'm serious! That fucker isn't good, he just caught me off guard. It won't happen again," Dedrick argued. She mentally rolled her eyes at his words.

"If you say so Dedrick," she replied, sounding defeated. She really just didn't want to argue with him right now, especially when he was being a sore loser.

"Are you defending him? You are _my_ girlfriend not his!" Dedrick shouted at her, she recoiled a little bit as he raised his voice.

"I'm not defending him. And I know that I'm _your_ girlfriend! Just because you are being a sore loser doesn't mean you have to take it out on me," she shouted back, knowing that her last words would only upset him more but she couldn't help it.

"A sore loser? I am not being a sore loser. Excuse me for being pissed when I am sitting in a hospital bed because of your ex and you are defending him!" Dedrick shouted at her again. She was sure if the curtains had not been drawn around them that she would see plenty of eyes looking at them right now.

"He is not my _ex_ , and again I am not defending him! I am just being a realist. He kicked your ass Dedrick! He beat you! You went up against the three time-defending dueling champion of Europe and a wizard a year older than you and expected it to be easy! Am I supposed to lie to you? No, I won't do that. You won't get better if I sugar coat things. You went in there with an ego and he humbled you. You should be thinking of strategies for the next meeting not revenge!" she shouted back at him again.

"Get out of here," Dedrick screamed at her, ignoring all of her words.

"FINE!" she screamed back in anger, before turning and leaving the hospital wing. She made it a point to slam the door of the hospital wing behind her. The walk to the library was a short one, but felt like it took much longer. She couldn't believe how much of an ass Dedrick had been to her.

Alina knew herself to be more competitive than anyone else she knew. When she had lost the dueling tournament this summer she had wanted nothing more than to hex someone. But she didn't, she had sucked it up and moved on. Dedrick had kicked her ass, he had humbled her. Instead of bitching about it she went straight to the library when she got home and got to work. He was acting childish, and she was in no mood to babysit. She would try again with him later after he apologized to her and cooled off.

"Well you look like hell," Marik said to her as she sat down loudly at their table in the library.

"Do you really want to say that to me right now Marik?" she asked him, ready to hex him at the drop of a wand if he answered her wrong.

"Good point. Here," he said, handing her a book.

"What am I looking for?" she asked them as she took the book from Marik.

"We divided the riddle up and are going to look at it line by line. The line you are looking into is: _What's left unsolved could end your years._ Look for any spells, puzzles, rituals, riddles, and anything else that could end in death if solved incorrectly or not at all," Harry answered her.

"Simple enough," she replied sarcastically.

Thank god for books and magic is all she had to say. After being in a horrible mood, nothing was more relaxing and calming than turning the pages of new books and reading up on new magics. For a few hours the three of them went through countless books on Durmstrang's shelves. Both of the boys were obviously exhausted from the task and made slow progress but she did her best to keep pushing them harder. Since she wasn't able to help them during the tasks in between them was the only time where she could help them.

Harry had been looking into anything with doors, walls, and halls, and had for the most part come up dry on anything to insightful. Marik was looking into famous puzzles and riddles to see if he could find anything that might shed some light, but he also for the most part had found nothing useful.

"Harry look!" Marik said sounding excited after a while, she craned her neck to see what he had found.

"What am I looking at?" Harry asked confused as he scanned over the book Marik had put in front of his face.

"This book used to belong to a student here at Durmstrang. There are quill markings on almost every page and look, it's the Deathly Hallows symbol," Marik answered Harry.

"What do the Deathly Hallows have to do with the clue?" she asked him confused. She had been read the children's story of the hallows and the four brothers countless times growing up. She knew the legends and rumors of the story well, but was unsure of how they applied to the clue exactly.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the clue. Look at his notes on this page," Marik told them, laying the book down on the table.

 _One down four to go._ Was written in the margins of an article on legends of the elder wand.

"So whoever wrote in this book owned the Elder Wand?" she asked him looking at the quill marks written right next to the wand part of the symbol. She was still a little confused.

"How do you know they really had it?" Harry asked him.

"I don't, but I've been reading all the notes whoever owned the book took as I skimmed the pages. This person definitely knew their magic, so I think it is a real possibility," Marik answered her, his voice still excited.

"But the Deathly Hallows are just part of legend, no one knows if they actually exist," she tried to argue.

"I think they do. And I think Harry already has one too," Marik argued.

"This again?" Harry interrupted Marik.

"You think Harry's cloak is the invisibility cloak?" she asked him, assuming that was what he meant.

"Yeah, I do, and from all the research I did on the hallows over the summer _I_ think they are real and out there somewhere," Marik told them both as he continued to scan the book.

"Well who owned the book?" Harry asked him, still shaking his head at the conversation.

"I don't know unfortunately. All I can make out is a big cursive _G_ next to the date on the inside cover," Marik answered sounding disappointed.

" _G_ hmm. . . Grindelwald maybe?" she suggested, Marik's eyes went wide. "He did go to Durmstrang back in his day."

"Alina you are a genius!" Marik shouted as he bent over the table to give her a hug.

"Uhh thanks," She replied, caught off guard from the sudden hug from Marik.

"Kingsley mentioned over the summer that a lot of people suspected Grindelwald had the Elder Wand during the war. I don't know how I forgot about that. I'm gonna have to look up books on Grindelwald then," Marik told them as he stood up from the table.

"Not right now you're not," Harry told him, looking at his watch. "It's time for dinner now and Hermione will kill us if we come back to the library empty handed."

"Ugh, fineee!" Marik complained, admitting defeat. They all followed Harry's lead and began packing up their things before putting all of their books back onto their shelves before leaving the library.  
"Since when have you been so interested in the Deathly Hallows by the way?" she asked Marik as they headed towards the dining hall.

"Since Luna and me found a children's book over the summer and I learned about them," Marik answered her.

"Oh. How you doing with that by the way?" Alina asked Marik, wondering how he was dealing with the breakup now that the first task was over and he was back in reality.

"With what?" he asked her as they made their way into the dining hall and found three seats in the Hogwart's section.

"With the whole Luna thing!" she shouted at him, he could be so dense sometimes.

"Oh that, I haven't really thought about it all day. I've been too busy with the task, I'll be fine though," he answered her as they sat down. Guess he really wasn't taking Luna breaking up with him too hard. Either that or he wasn't letting her know how much it was affecting him.

"Well that's good I guess," she replied, not really sure what to say.

"The dining hall is extra packed tonight," Harry said as they all waited for the food to appear.

"Wonder if they are making an announcement about the tournament or something," Marik commented as they all stared around the hall. Sure enough as they sat down and more people made their way into the dining hall Durmstrang's Headmaster made his way to the podium and silenced the hall.

"Before the feast begins I have a few quick words. The Triwizards' Tournament is an event of great tradition, and I am happy to announce tonight that one of everyone's favorite events of the tournament will be taking place this year. On Christmas evening, just a few days before the second task, Durmstrang will be playing host to the Yule Ball!" the Headmaster announced loudly and immediately excited whispers spread throughout the hall before he continued.

"The Yule Ball is a spectacular event that provides the students of the three schools the opportunity to socialise and take a break from everything else. The Yule Ball is a formal dance, that has been a part of the Triwizards' Tournament since the very beginning. The event is formal, which means formal attire is required of all, and all students are expected to attend. So get started on searching for your date! The ball will start right at eight o'clock on Christmas Day. Now, let the feast begin!" the Headmaster announced and the loud roar of people discussing the Yule Ball immediately proceeded.

"Ugh! Guess this means I have to go get dress robes or a tux," Marik complained as his head landed on the table.

"Why does everyone have to go? I don't want to go to a ball," Harry added, looking upset that he was being forced to attend.

"Oh it won't be that bad, it's only one night. Besides Harry, this means you can be close with Hermione all night. And hold her hands, grab her waist as you dance closely with her, maybe ki. . ." she teased him before he interrupted her.

"Okay I get it!" Harry said in a full blush. "I have to ask her to be my date first and she might say no."

"Oh shut up, you know she will say yes!" Alina told him. It was unreal how oblivious people could be.

"Well I guess I lost my date for the ball this morning. Guess I deserved it though," Marik said as he tried to steal a roll from her plate.

"I'm sure I can help find you a cute Durmstrang boy to go with," she joked, batting his hand away from her plate.

"Funny," Marik said, not seeming to find it funny though.

"What are you gonna do?" Harry asked Marik.

"Who knows, I'm not against going by myself. He just said we had to show up, he didn't say we had to stay long."

"It's gonna look weird when you start dancing by yourself though," she joked again, Marik rolled his eyes but let out a quiet laugh at her quip.

"Excuse me," a soft voice said from behind her and Marik. Alina turned around to see that it was one of Beauxbaton's champions, Fleur Delacour, standing tall and beautiful with her pretty silvery-blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and unfair body and Veela effects. The girl looked like a freaking super model. Alina really-really did not like the French girl and all her perfectness.

"Oh, hey Fleur," Harry greeted the girl first.

"Hello," Alina replied halfheartedly.

"Hey Fleur, what can we do for you? Congrats today by the way. We heard that you and your teammates did really well," Marik said to the tall blonde girl. Alina scoffed when she saw how Marik was looking at her.

 _Boys are so stupid. All they care about is big boobs, big butts, perfect skin, long legs, and everything else Fleur freaking had!_

"Thank you," Fleur responded with a large, pearly-white smile. "I just wanted to tell you congratulations on your performance in the first task Marik. I watched a replay of the task and you were _very_ impressive," Fleur said, speaking only to Marik. Alina was getting annoyed how the girl was definitely ignoring her and Harry sitting there and so obviously flirting with Marik in front of them.

"How did you watch a replay? I want to do that! And really? I didn't think I did much at all. I heard you took down a dragon, that's badass!" Marik asked the French girl who blushed a little at his compliment.

"You must be hungry after a task like that Fleur, you better go dig in before the food gets cold," Alina said with some annoyance to her voice, wanting the girl to leave their table.

"If you would like tomorrow I can take you to where I watched it and show you?" Fleur asked Marik, ignoring Alina completely. That only pissed off Alina some more.

 _Who did this chick think she was?_

"Really? That would be amazing! Tomorrow then, it's a date!" Marik responded sounding excited, and failing to notice how is choice of words at the end made Fleur blush even more. It's a date meant a much different thing to Fleur than it did to Marik knowing her friend and looking at the expression on Fleur's face.

"I can't wait. Well I will see you tomorrow then Marik. Bye everyone." Fleur gave a little curtsey before turning away from them.

"I'm excited to get to see everything that happened! Harry you are gonna come too right?" Marik asked as he turned back around to face Harry.

"Uh. . . I don't think that is a good idea," Harry replied, his face a mixture of confusion.

"What? Why not? If we both watch all the other champions perspectives we might get some good ideas about what we are up against."

"Because I don't think I should be there on you and Fleur's first _date_ ," Harry pointed out, putting emphasis on his last word. Alina was beyond annoyed at this topic already.

"What are you talking about?" Marik asked, almost doing a spit take with his drink.

"He is just talking about how you totally just agreed to a freaking date with Fleur freaking Delacour tomorrow!" she shouted at him.

"No I didn't. She just offered to show me where I can watch the first task replay."

"You are an idiot Marik! To her you definitely just asked her on a date! God it must be so easy being you! You just break a girl's heart and move right on to the next upgraded version every fucking time!" she screamed at him, unable to control her anger and somewhat unsure of where it all had come from.

"What? Alina what is that supposed to mean?" Marik asked her as she stood up from her seat and started to leave the hall. "Where are you going?" he asked her again as she left.

"To see _my_ boyfriend!" she shouted as she passed through the doorway of the dining hall and headed off towards the hospital wing.

* * *

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	50. Book4: Chapter 9

**Marik**

"I think it may be for the best if we stop breaking the riddle up line by line. I think we need to take a step back and analyze the whole picture before we keep trying to solve the smaller parts," Hermione said to the three of them from her hospital bed, which since yesterday had become more of a desk and bookshelf than an actual bed.

"Yeah, I am starting to agree with that, I'm getting nowhere analyzing single words of the riddle at a time," Harry replied, looking exhausted from all the research he had been doing.

It had only been one full day since the first task of the tournament, but to an outside observer looking in, it would have appeared as if the four of them were still currently participating in a Triwizards' Tournament task. Ever since Hermione had been told the clue for the second task she had been working like a mad woman to solve it, even from inside the hospital wing. And of course since Hermione was stuck inside the hospital wing that meant Harry was also basically in the hospital wing at all times helping her do research, only leaving for classes and to go retrieve a new book at Hermione's request.

Alina had also been assisting them in solving the clue, although, she did not seem to be enjoying it too much. After randomly blowing up on him in the dining hall yesterday, Alina had disappeared for the rest of night, leaving just the three of them around Hermione's bed to do research. However, just a little while after he and Harry had arrived at the hospital wing this morning Alina had shown up, still quite grumpy, but had again started helping them research the clue.

"I think we should go by rhymes. I may be dumb for this but I would assume that each rhyme is part of a pair, and that the pair as a whole would be a clue," he pointed out as they all stretched and took a break.

"Yeah, I agree Marik. Let's all start with the first two lines instead of splitting up this time. We might have better luck if we concentrate our efforts," Hermione added and started to pick up a new a book.

"Leave it to the Headmasters to give you a riddle as a clue, as if the tasks themselves weren't hard enough," Alina said, earning nods of agreement from all of them.

"Yeah, this clue better be worth it that's for sure. I was hoping for a break between tasks but guess that is out of the question with solving this and now the Yule Ball too," Harry replied, rubbing the bags under his eyes.

"Yule Ball? What is the Yule Ball?" Hermione asked him. Marik immediately laughed when he learned that Hermione didn't know about the Yule Ball yet.

 _Guess that means you didn't ask her yet Harry._

"You didn't ask her Harry?" Alina shouted at their friend, having come to the same conclusion as he had.

"Uhh. . ." was all Harry said, looking nervous and starting to sweat.

"Ask me what? Tell me already!" Hermione asked, obviously annoyed that they all knew something that she didn't.

"Durmstrang's Headmaster announced that on Christmas evening that there is going to be a ball held to celebrate the tournament. I was going to tell you last night, but I forgot once we started talking and reading," Harry answered her. Marik laughed again to himself as he saw uncomfortable his friend looked.

" _And-_ everyone is required to go, and everyone needs a _date_ to dance with!" Alina added playfully, causing both of their friends to blush.

"Hermione speaking of the ball, will you uhm. . . be my date to the ball?" Harry asked, mumbling out the last few words nervously.

"Speak up Harry, I don't think she heard you," he said, teasing his friend.

"Will you please be my date Hermione and accompany me to the ball!" Harry almost shouted the words out this time, causing the few people in the hospital wing to stare at him. Hermione was blushing like a Weasley down on her bed.

"Of course I will Harry! I couldn't ask for a better date," Hermione replied, sounding excited at the prospect. He and Alina watched on with a smile as the two of them hugged each other. "Guess that means I have to go get a dress soon then, I didn't bring one with me."

"I will go with you when we are able to. I need to get one too," Alina said to Hermione.

"Oh, did Dedrick ask you already then?" Hermione asked Alina, a large smile plastered on her face.

"Kind of. I told him about the ball last night and he assumed we were already going together. He is still being bitter about the task though at the moment, so we didn't talk that much about it," Alina answered Hermione. Maybe that was the reason why Alina was so grumpy.

"Well did you ask Luna yet Marik? Oh wait! I'm so sorry Marik! I forgot!" Hermione asked him and then immediately sprouted a face full of regret at her slip up. He just smiled and laughed it off though.

The whole Luna situation had not really fully hit him yet. Luna had only broken up with him yesterday, so he imagined it would take some more time before the onslaught of emotions set in. He was sad of course, and felt bad that he had hurt Luna. He had truly grown to like her since they had first started dating and it was a little hard to believe that he was actually losing her. She had become one of his closest friends and his biggest peice of support over the summer and it would be hard to imagine not having her around. There was just so much going on this year though and he had just become too distracted by the tournament and things since they had arrived at Durmstrang that it all was just hard to comprehend.

He knew, though, that ever since they had arrived at Durmstrang he had put Luna onto the back burner so to say. He had been so focused on the tournament and what not that he had neglected to take care of Luna and be a good boyfriend at all. She had been there for him in the times he needed someone the most and had been the biggest reason he had been able to keep on moving forwards and he had not. He had failed to be there for her at all this school year. He knew Luna leaving him was his fault and he wasn't trying to make any excuses. It honestly was no real surprise when Luna pointed this out and ended things with him. After all, he had been a pretty shitty boyfriend to Luna and a girl as good as her deserved much better than that. The pain of losing her still sucked and he was sure it would sink in soon enough.

Each time he felt the bracelet they had bought together on his wrist it was a reminder of how important Luna was to him. This was all probably for the best though, Luna deserved good things in life and he had failed to give her that. He would still always cherish the short few months that they had been together and would be eternally grateful for the wounds that Luna had helped to close.

"It's okay Hermione," he told her, still laughing a little at her guilty reaction.

"What are you going to do about the ball then?" Hermione asked curiously.

"No clue, I will figure something out though. Maybe McGonagall will go with me," he joked, earning a laugh from Harry and a roll of the eyes from Hermione.

"You could always ask _flirty-freaking-Fleur_ during your date today with her!" Alina said sarcastically. Marik noted Alina's large scowl at the mention of the French girl.

"You have a date with Fleur Delacour? Didn't you just literally get out of a relationship? Ugh I miss everything being stuck in here! When did this happen? I knew she liked you but I didn't know you liked her!" Hermione asked him, leaning forward on her bed as if she needed to get closer to get her answers.

"You knew she liked him?" Alina started to ask, but he cut her off.

"First off, for the last time it is _not_ a date."

"It _is_ a date, Marik is just dumb," Harry interrupted him.

"Whatever! And second off, you don't _know_ that she likes me, and I haven't even thought about liking her! I just became single one freaking day ago! Fleur just offered to show me where I can watch a replay of the first task, so of course I said yes. That is all! It is not a date" he answered Hermione. As much as Alina and Harry said it was a date he still didn't believe them. Fleur was. . . Well Fleur was freaking hot! She was an extremly gorgeous women who could literally have any guy in the world that she wanted. There was no way she would have asked _him_ out on a date.

"I _do_ know! And it certainly sounds like a date to me," Hermione said, agreeing with the other two at the table.

"You guys are the worst. But speaking of Fleur I am supposed to be meeting her soon so I'm going to leave you three here and go on my _date!_ " he told them, making it a point to say the last part sarcastically.

"He admits it!" Harry joked as Marik stood up and placed the book on his lap back on the pile at the edge of Hermione's bed.

"Shut up! Hermione if you don't want to go with this ugly git you are always welcome to go to the ball with me," he joked, causing Harry to glare at him.

"Thanks for the offer Marik, but I think I am content with the ugly git," she answered him, smiling and taking in one of Harry's hands in hers in the process.

"Alrighty, well I will come back here afterwards and give you all the rundown of everything I saw in the replay," he started to walk away but turned around. "Alina can you be here later this afternoon too? Since you were the only other person who saw all the perspectives in the task I figured we could collaborate on everything. Might help us out moving forwards you know?" he asked Alina, who he noted looked even more pissed off than she had earlier.

"Maybe," Alina answered, short and to the point.

"Alright then. I'm out," he waved goodbye to his friends and headed out of the hall.

The walk to the dining hall was a short one from the library. Almost everything important in Durmstrang was located on the first floor of the castle, leaving all the upper levels for dorms and practice rooms.

Whether this really was a date or not, he really did not care. He was just excited to get to watch the replay of the first task. Outside of getting to beat Dedrick's ass he had seen almost no action during the first task. He was looking forward to seeing what Hermione and Harry had actually gone up against, as well as check out the strategies used by the other teams. When he arrived at the dining hall he saw Fleur, looking amazing as ever, sitting on one of the benches outside the large doors in all of her splendor, her nose buried deep in a book.

"Hey Fleur," he said greeting the French witch. Fleur smiled at him as she stood up and closed the book she had been reading.

"Hello Marik, right on time," Fleur replied as she looked down at her watch.

"Were you waiting long?" he asked her, hoping he had not made her wait.

"Not at all, I actually just arrived a few minutes ago. Shall we go?"

"Lead the way," he replied and followed by her side as she began to lead him through the castle. "Do you mind if I ask what you were reading?" he asked her as they walked.

"Of course not, you can ask me anything you want to know," Fleur started to say, flashing him another one of her pretty white smiles. "It is a book on defensive runes. I only just started taking the subject this year and already feel like I can't get enough of it," Fleur answered him, he sensed some excitement in her voice as she talked about the subject.

"I said the same exact thing when I decided to take runes in my third year. It's one of my favorite classes now for sure," he replied, happy to know someone outside of himself enjoyed the class as much as he did.

"Really? I would never have taken you for a runes person," Fleur answered playfully.

"Yeah, I actually probably put more time into rune's class than any other class last year. And what type of person did you take me for?"

"Hmm. . . Well I already knew you were certainly a dueling type of person from the dueling tournament and the first task. But you look like a charms type of person to me," Fleur answered him as they turned another corner in the castle.

"What does a charms type of person look like?" he asked curiously.

"Bright, full of thought eyes that always seem to appear as if they are looking off in the distance, probably thinking of some sort of spell. And the really good charms people are also extremely handsome of course," Fleur's eyes met his as she answered him, he couldn't help but smile and grin a little at her obvious compliment and flattery.

"Is that so? Who knew?" he laughed. "Aren't you just the sweetest. I thought for sure you were going to say charms people are charming," he joked, thankfully earning a giggle from Fleur from his lame joke.

"Oh, well the charming part was assumed, it is in the name after all," Fleur added, still giggling. Marik thought as he listened to her giggle that Fleur had a cute laugh.

"So if you were able to narrow me down as a charms person, lemme try and guess what type of person you are then," he said to Fleur, trying to think outside of runes what the girl looked like she would be good at. He obviously knew she was good at charms and dueling from past experiences with her but he looked the girl over to see if anymore ideas came to head. He could of sworn Fleur blushed a little as his eyes scanned her over and he was surprised that he didn't as he realised he had just very obviously been caught looking her up.

Fleur had a very obvious beauty to her, one that you had to be blind to miss. Her blonde hair that hung long down her back looked almost silver in the light of the castle. She was tall, nearly as tall as he was and was supported by two of the longest legs Marik had ever seen. Her tight jeans and tee-shirt did not hide her obvious features at all either.

"Okay, go ahead," Fleur replied, looking interested to hear his answer.

"Well I too also know that you are a dueling and charms type of person from the dueling tournaments, but to me you also look like you would be a spell creations person," he told her, and tried to gauge her reaction to see if he was right. Fleur's smile just grew a little.

"And what brought you to that conclusion?" she asked him, her voice sounding playful again.

"Spell creation is one of the most difficult subjects out there. To be good at the course you have to be the best of the best, and be able to see the world of magic in a different light. You have to be able to look at magic as art, and not just incantations and wand movements. I for a fact know you are the best of the best, and I have seen your magic first hand. It certainly gives off the auror of creativity that only a spell creationist could have. Plus, spell creation is a thing of beauty, and so are you," he said the last part with a wink, surprised a little by his flirting with the girl. He couldn't help but smile in return as Fleur's smile grew even larger.

"Oh you are trouble Mr. Marik. You may have earned a few brownie points with that comment," Fleur said to him, sounding a little flirtatious to him.

 _Maybe this was a date._ He couldn't help but think to himself.

"Ooh brownie points already? Good job me. So was I right?" he asked her as Fleur stopped and led him into a small classroom.

"Yes you were actually. Charms is my favorite subject, but it is a close tie for second between spell creations and runes at the moment. If you want to grab a seat over there on that couch I will get everything set up," Fleur told him as she moved around the room. He walked over and plopped himself down on the sofa, which seemed to have a cushioning enchantment in it.

"So have you got into carving any cool runes yet?" he asked her, curious to know if she had started working on anything he had not.

"Yeah, I have. I actually just got my new diamond drill and enchanted rune stave at the start of the school year. I haven't spread my wings too much in the subject yet, but I have been carving a lot of boosting runes at the moment while I try to get the handle of things," Fleur answered him as she took out what looked like a muggle projector from one of the cabinets and set it up on a nearby table.

"I will have to let you try out my unicorn stave sometime, it is beyond better than your normal enchanted chisels. And boosting runes are where I started too. You should look into combination runes too, that is what I practiced the most on early on," he told her as she continued to set things up.

"You have a unicorn stave? How did you manage to get one?" She seemed to have finished setting up whatever the device was and came down and sat next to him. Marik was surprised and a little caught off guard at just how close she had sat to him; both of their legs were brushing against one another.

"Yeah, I do. Me and my friends stumbled across a dead unicorn during our first year of school, so we harvested as much as we could from it back then. I used the horn to carve out two staves. Next time we hang out I will be sure to bring it and let you test it out."

"Wow that is a lucky find and I would love to try it out!" Fleur replied in excitement. "So we are hanging out a _next_ time then huh?" Fleur asked him with a playful grin.

"Of course, I owe you for bringing me here and showing me the task replay, plus I guess I would maybe like to see you again." He replied almost instinctively. He was a little surprised at how natural flirting with Fleur came.

"Just maybe?" Fleur asked, making large puppy dog eyes in the process.

"Well it depends on how you behave today I guess."

"Guess I will have to be on my best behavior then won't I? You mentioned combination runes, I haven't read about them before. What are they used for?"

"Yes you will! And they can be used in a lot of ways actually. But let's say for example that since you are carving a lot of boosting runes right now that you come across two runes that you feel like would be useful if used together. A combination rune allows you to combine two rune effects into a single rune. So for example, when I practice dueling a lot I will use a quick drain rune and limiter rune while I train. Instead of having to carry around both runes or use two rune stones, I can carve a combination rune to put both runes into one rune stone. That make any sense?" he asked her, unsure if he had just rambled too much or not.

"That does sound useful, I will have to grab a book on it later tonight then," she replied, looking genuinely interested in the subject.

"I actually own a really good book on it that I can let you borrow when we get done here, we will just have to go get it from my room."

"We haven't even finished here and you are already trying to get me into your room huh? I told you that you were bad," Fleur said playfully again. If Marik was the type of person who blushed he for sure would have then at the thought.

"Ya ya ya, I'm the worst!"

"So do you mind if I ask you why you use quick drain and limiter runes when you practice dueling?" Fleur asked him curiously.

"I actually train with my charms professor Filius Flitwick, who I assume you have heard of before as a fellow duelist right?" he asked her before he continued.

"Yes I have, and that explains why you are as good as you are."

"Yeah, he has helped me out with dueling more than anything else. But anyways, it is actually a training method he uses when training for his tournaments. The limiter rune is kind of like working out physically with ankle and wrist weights on. It takes more power and magic to cast the spells you normally would cast so it helps train your power and magic levels. When you duel without the limiter your body feels like it can cast the spells at any level, so that's why I use that one.

"The quick drain I use, to one, get my body used to having my magic drained and casting spells with lower magic levels, and two, to try and beat my opponent quickly before my magic runs out." Fleur listened on intently, seeming extremely interested in what he was saying.

"I'm impressed. I never would have thought of anything like that. I get why you beat me so many times now."

"To be honest Fleur I think I only really beat you one time. The first time was a fluke."

"What? Why do you say that?" Fleur asked him with a confused look.

"You had me beat with your strategy in the first year tournament. I was stuck inside the sandstorm you sent at me and would have for sure been knocked out by your combination of lightning and water. If it wasn't for me accidently using a spell I didn't even know how to do then I would have lost for sure," he answered her truthfully. His accidental burst of shadow magic was the only reason he had won the tournament that year. He knew now how to do what he had done then, but back then it had all been luck.

"I wouldn't call that a fluke. After all, luck is the most useful quality a duelist could ask for," Fleur responded with another smile.

"Yeah, I guess that is true. Speaking of the tournament are you upset that it is cancelled this year because of the Triwizards' Tournament?" he asked her, assuming that she was still looking for revenge.

"No, I am actually thankful it was cancelled. I think the Triwizards' Tournament will be more than enough action for me this year. Plus, I was actually thinking about skipping the tournament in the future. I truly do love dueling, but I think I could spend the time better elsewhere. Plus, you kicked my ass over this summer and I don't know if I could ever actually beat you one on one to be honest."

"I think we are closer in skill level than you think, I may give off the vibe that winning is easy, but you have always been one of my toughest opponent in the tournaments." Outside of maybe Hermione, Fleur had put his magic to the test more than anyone else he had dueled during his three EMSDCs.

"Well thank you. Maybe I will have to enter it again then, I did always enjoy dueling you. Although, your magic that first year did terrify me if I am honest," Fleur said laughing at the last part.

"Yeah, you aren't the first person to tell me that." It had even taken him sometime to get used to the somewhat intimidating appearance of the shadow figures he could summon.

"Well are you ready to get started watching this?" Fleur asked him. He had been so caught up in talking to her that he had almost forgotten the reason they were here.

"Yeah, I am excited!" he told her and with a flick of her wand the projector on the table near them sent nine different images onto the wall, one video for each champion. "Wow this is so cool!" he said as the footage started to roll.

"So I understand if you can't or do not want to answer any questions I have, but I am going to ask anyways okay?"

"Yeah, of course, and same to you," he responded, his eyes switching between the many different viewpoints.

"Do you mind telling me what runes those are that you are carving?" she asked him as one of the images on the wall showed him carving the three runes for Harry and Hermione. He thought about whether or not to tell her. After a few seconds he decided there was no harm in it, after all if she looked hard enough she would be able to tell what they were anyways.

"No I don't. One is a spell power booster, another is an emergency shield, and the last one is a slow drain rune."

"That is a smart combination. I was the only one in our group who has ever taken runes before so I was in charge of carving ours. All I could think of under the pressure though was a simple shield rune, and it only ended up working against two spells," Fleur told him.

"Yeah, I was only able to carve those three since I was practically doing nothing the whole task."

"Why didn't you make any combination runes?"

"Too be honest, I just didn't want to take any risks. I thought about doing a combination rune for the boost and slow-drain runes and making another shield rune, but I figured it would be better to play things safe. I'm so used to using a higher-grade stave too ya know?"

"That makes sense."

"What spell did you just cast there against that cerberus?" he asked her as he watched her cast a brightly colored spell that seemed to really bother the large three-headed beast. It was hard to believe that while had been sitting there yawning at base, Fleur and Weiss were fighting a freaking cerberus.

"It is actually a spell I designed. I call it drain-magic. It acts like a virus in the target and slowly drains its magic and pulls it into you. Our spells were practically bouncing off its thick skin so I used it to make it weaker over time so that we would have a chance to beat it," Fleur answered him.

"Wow that sounds awesome. Using that, you could practically never have to worry about running low on juice," he responded, impressed with the spell she had created. He really wanted to learn how to do it, but didn't want to push his luck in asking her.

"Yeah, It comes in handy a lot. Although, as you can see with the cerberus, right now the spell I have designed is a pretty slow drain. I actually tried to use it on you over the summer in our duel, but your shadow figure thingy took the blow instead of you," Fleur confessed to him.

"Sounds like I got lucky again then. I don't think I would have been able to counter that." Marik watched in awe as Hermione's perspective showed her fighting the minotaur on her own. He was beyond impressed with the magic and ability Hermione showed throughout the fight. Her time-magic was beyond terrifying, and Marik made the mental note to make sure that he never pissed off Hermione again.

"What spell is that your teammate is casting?" Fleur asked him at the sight of Hermione using one of her time-based magic spells.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you even if I tried. Hermione tried to explain it to me once and I gave up trying to understand after the first few seconds," he admitted honestly.

Hermione's parallel worlds time-magic spell was incredible to behold. Watching her perform the spell in practice rooms was nothing like watching it in action against a full grown minotaur. Watching her obliterate the minotaur with the spell was only making him more jealous of all of the action his friends had gotten in the first task.

"You made him look like a muggle," Fleur broke the silence with a laugh as they watched his duel with Dedrick.

"Yeah. . ." he replied, not able to help the smile that came to his face as he watched her reaction.

"That was probably the most badass and dominant duel I have ever seen," Fleur told him, shaking her head as they watched his final spell send the bastard into the forest again.

"Yeah right!"

"Seriously. You didn't even have a wand and you kicked his ass, literally. That kid is annoying as hell so I am happy." The fact that Fleur didn't like Dedrick too only made him like her even more.

"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of him either. What were you thinking when you saw that dragon?" he asked as Fleur and Weiss entered into their door. The enormous Hungarian Horntail immediately began spewing out fire intensely as the two girls started firing off spells.

"Holy shit," Fleur replied and they both laughed. "Thank god Weiss's parents are dragon breeders or we both would have probably ended up fried." Marik had not known that about Weiss. That would explain how the older blonde girl looked so calm in the face of a Hungarian Horntail.

"Nice usage of the _rensa maho_ spell," he said as he watched Fleur wrap the dragon's feet up in a long black chain.

"I actually owe you credit for that one. I learned that spell the day after I watched you use it in the finals of the EMSDC before our third years."

"Really?" he asked, a little surprised that Fleur remembered what spells he had used back then.

"Yeah, your friend Hermione used that _geminio_ spell on me in our duel and it gave me a lot of trouble. You used the chain magic spell to handle all of her thought projections in one swoop. I had to go out in learn it after seeing it used like that."

"I had no idea you were paying that much attention," he replied honestly.

"Of course I was paying attention to you. I have another question."

"Okay, shoot."

"I know that you have created a whole bunch of crazy spells and that they all deal with shadows or the dark or something. But right there," Fleur pointed at the screen where he had just disappeared into a shadow, "are you actually going into the shadow of that pillar?" He thought about how much he was willing or should be willing to share.

"I don't wanna say too much, but I guess I can answer that. Yeah, I'm going into the shadow."

"What is it like in a shadow?" Fleur asked, turning from the projection screen to face him.

"Cold and hazy. Like you are swimming in a fog. You can't see anything of yourself but you can feel it there, like reaching out in your room when the lights are all off. You get used to it after a while though." He tried his best to explain it. Hermione and Harry had asked him the same question a few times, but it was one of those things that was hard to explain.

"I'm jealous you came up with something so badass."

"I'm sure you could do the same. Your drain-magic already sounds pretty badass to me." He replied honestly.

The two of them watched the rest of the the first task together, both of them firing one question off right after another. He had already known that Fleur definitely knew her magic from their past dueling experiences, but after watching her perspective in the task and hearing all of her observations and questions he became that much more impressed with her. Fleur was really an incredible witch.

Fleur seemed to have the same awe of magic that he and his friends all had. Whenever an impressive spell was cast she would get just as excited to see it as he would, and whenever she saw a spell that she did not know how to cast yet, she wanted to immediately learn it just like him. She pointed things out that he had never thought to notice and the way she performed her magic during the task was so artistic. Fleur would find ways throughout the task to chain together a spell combo that he would have never imagined putting together. He enjoyed himself quite a bit as he sat there with her, and found himself disappointed when they footage of the task finally ended.

"Thanks again for showing me that, it helped out alot."

"Of course, I had fun."

"I did too. I mean you were kind of boring, but the film made up for that," he joked playfully.

"Oh so it's like that huh?" Fleur asked him with a grin that Marik found quite sexy as she finished putting everything up and proceeded to sit on one of the nearby desks.

"Oh, you know I didn't find you boring. If anything I was boring with all my ramblings."

"I like your ramblings, you are cute when you ramble," Fleur responded, causing him to grin.

"Oh yeah? So you think I am cute?"

"I mean I already called you handsome, so of course I think you are cute," Fleur answered him, smiling more as she did. He liked the way she looked when she got that type of smile on her face.

"And why do you think I am cute?" he asked her, curious to know her answer.

"Well your personality is cute, I like how passionate you are about things when you talk. Plus that cocky little grin you get whenever you try to flirt is like chocolate."

"You may have just earned some brownie points too Miss Delacour," he told her playfully, not able to stop his growing grin at her words.

"Ooh can I try and earn some more?" Fleur asked him with a wink.

"You can try."

"Well then in that case I also think you are handsome, and sexy," Fleur told him a tone that felt seductive.

"Oh really?" he asked her, perking up a little more at her words.

"Mhmm. Your tan skin, dark hair, and face are _very_ handsome. And your eyes, well your silver eyes are _very_ sexy to me," Fleur told him flirtatiously in an almost purr like voice. Marik made his way over to the girl on the desk and stopped a few feet in front of them.

"I think you are just as bad as I am Miss Delacour."

"Me bad? No! I just am being honest, and in the process earning some brownie points that hopefully I will get to cash in soon," She argued, trying to sound innocent.

"Mhmm. Well maybe I will be a little honest too then and try to earn some more brownie points of my own then," he replied, closing the gap between them as he spoke.

"You aren't allowed to earn any brownie points though until I cash all of mine in," Fleur argued in a teasing tone.

"Oh is that the rule?" He asked her, raising one of his eyebrows.

"Mhmm, everyone knows that."

"Okay then. I guess I will play by the rules this time, what do you want to cash in your points for?" he asked her curiously.

"Hmmm. . . So many good options. How about. . . this!" she said seductively as she grabbed the front of his robes around his chest and pulled him closer to her, removing the small gap between them.

As he was quickly pulled up against the desk where Fleur was sitting, and between her legs he immediately felt the warmth of her body pressed up right against his. Before he could even react, his eyes were closed and Fleur's warm, soft, and wet lips were pressed firmly against his. A soft moan escaped him as her body pressed harder against his and her lips attempted to part his. The feeling of her body and features pressing into him was driving him mental.

Wanting more, he allowed Fleur's tongue entrance into his mouth, where it began to explore and dance around with his. After a few moments of that he pushed his tongue into Fleur's mouth and began to explore it on his own. For minutes or hours the two of them stayed like this, both of them kissing the other, their tongues both fighting for dominance. The kissing was leaving him feeling like he was in a state of bliss, as his entire body was reacting to the passion and temptation the French girl, that he was literally French kissing, was provoking. He was sure as their bodies were pressed up against each others that she could tell just how good the kissing felt and just how much he was enjoying it. He could haved stayed like this forever. Unfortunately though, the ringing of the warning curfew bell ended that possibility.

"I guess you will have to cash in your brownie points the next time then," Fleur told him as their lips separated and she stood up from the desk and fixed herself. Marik tried to shake his head of all the tingles his body currently had and forced himself to look away from the girl as he tried to calm down.

"I guess I will," he replied, a little upset that the bell had interrupted them.

"So I guess it's probably a little late to ask this, but you aren't seeing anyone right now are you? I thought you were with someone at the beginning of the year, which is why I never said anything to you." Fleur asked.

"I was then yeah. I'm single as of yesterday though," he answered, thinking about Luna for a few seconds..

"I'm sorry to hear that, but good." Fleur pulled him into another quick kiss, this one harder than the last.

"Good?" he asked her as she pulled away from him again.

"Yup, good. Now I don't have to worry about having to fight anyone to get you," Fleur said with a devilish grin.

"What about you?" he asked her, curious himself.

"What about me?"

"I find it hard to believe that someone as breathtaking as you is single. Do I have to fight any boyfriends off?"

"Hmm, well there are these four guys. . ." Fleur started to say. "I'm kidding! I'm single, have been for a long time too."

"You must snore when you sleep or have some pretty gross habits then. I still think it's impossible for someone like you to be on the market."

"I do not snore! And it's not so hard to believe. I just have been waiting for the right guy you know? Plus, I'm a quarter veela, so a lot of guys tend to only be interested in me because of that. So I tend to stay away from most guys." Fleur mumbled out the last part, sounding embarrassed at her words.

"Veela? I've heard of that before, but I can't quite put a pin in it." He tried to wrack his brain and come up with an answer.

"Veela are a race of semi-humans. A Veela's magic is beauty based, and causes Veela to be born more beautiful than most. Their magic is almost toxic to males, and most all male beings find it near impossible to resist the charms, seductions, or aura of a Veela. Full blooded Veelas can transform into powerful, magical creatures when angry too. My grandmother was a full-blooded Veela and my mother a half-Veela," Fleur explained, still sounding embarrassed.

"I never knew most of that, interesting. Why do you sound like all that is a bad thing though?" he asked, curious to know why Fleur was acting like being a Veela was a negative thing.

"Because it _is_ a bad thing. Veela are often outcasts in society because of their magic. No wizards want them there because they can't think straight when around a Veela, and no witches want them around because they tend to get jealous. I have been in countless fights with other witches at Beauxbatons because they think I'm trying to steal their boyfriends if I even look at them. My first year I even had to walk with a professor to each class because guys kept trying to lure me into empty classrooms or broom closets." Fleur, looked down to her feet as she spoke.

Marik felt a jolt of pity wash over him as he listened to Fleur. Never in a million years would he have imagined she had gone through things like that, or that someone like her had a rough time at school.

"Well I don't think you should feel bad about being a quarter Veela. It makes you unique and I think it's awesome. I would kill for cool magical gifts like that. Two of my friends are _animagi,_ you are part _veela,_ I'm jealous that when everyone around me has these cool gifts that I'm just your average joe! And if anyone picks on you or tries to fight you because of it lemme know, I'll kick some ass! Plus, I liked hanging out with you and thought you were beautiful before I even knew what a Veela was." He did his best to try and wipe the frown of the girl's face. Apparently he said something right as he was again pulled back into Fleur's lips.

"Thank you Marik," Fleur said, the smile returned to her face.

"Mhmm, now let's get out of here and get to my room quick so I can give you that book before curfew," he told her as his nerves seemed to calm down a little.

"Still trying to get me into your room huh? Someone doesn't want to wait to cash in their brownie points," Fleur teased him, which only made his nerves flair up again.

"Don't act like you don't want me to cash in those points," he said, and almost as if on instincts pulled the now standing Fleur into his body again, and into another deep kiss. For another few moments they kissed again before he pulled away. Fleur pouted for a few seconds before her smile returned.

"I told you that you are trouble!" Fleur accused him as he pulled further away from her, but left his arm around her shoulder.

"You started it."

"Yeah I did," Fleur said with a mischievous smile. "Now come on, I want that book!" Fleur said to him and they started out of the room towards his dorm. The two of them started a new conversation on runes as they made their way to his dorm. He promised again to let Fleur practice a few runes with his unicorn stave, and they both agreed on meeting up in the library the next day after classes to see each other again.

"Hey Marik," a voice called out his name from down the hall close to his dorm entrance. Marik squinted his eyes to see that it was Harry.

"Hey Harry," he responded as he and Fleur made their way closer. "I know you two have already met, but Fleur this is my good friend Harry. Harry this is Fleur," he said, introducing the two of them again.

"Pleasure to meet you again Fleur," Harry said as the two of them shook hands.

"You too Harry," Fleur returned his greeting with a smile.

"What are you both up to?" Harry asked them.

"We were about to head to our room real quick, I promised to let Fleur borrow a book," he answered as he made his way to the dorm entrance and opened it, letting the two of them in.

"Thank you again for letting me borrow it Marik," Fleur thanked him again as they made their way down the hall towards his room.

"No thanks required," he replied as they arrived at he and Harry's dorm and opened the door. "Welcome to casa de Marik and Harry," he announced as they all made their way in.

"I don't think the two of you have enough books in here," Fleur said sarcastically as she looked at the towering stacks of books on their desks.

"Yeah, we got a little carried away with our packing," Harry confessed as he tried to tidy up a little.

" _Barty's Basic Booster Runes!"_ he shouted the name of the book out as he focused some magic into the _accio_ rune tattoo on his arm. A book from the bottom of a large pile came shooting out towards him, causing the rest of the books in the stack to fall loudly to the floor. "Oops," he said as grabbed the book out of the air. He handed the book to Fleur after the last few books landed on the ground.

"Well done mate," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Yeah. . ." He watched the pile of books continue to fall down onto the ground.

"I'm gonna let you get that," Harry said as he ignored the pile of books on the ground and plopped down onto his bed.

"I will, I will. I'll be right back Harry," he announced as he led Fleur back into the boy's dorm hallway.

"I'm probably going to end up staying up all night reading this thing now," Fleur told him as they made their way down the hall.

"That's pretty much what I did the night my friend bought it for me," he replied as they arrived at the exit of the hallway and walked back out into the castle. 'Thanks again for everything today, I had a lot of fun," he said as he pulled Fleur into another hug and for the fourth time that day started to kiss her again.

"Wow you are the biggest tool ever," someone shouted, drawing his attention away from Fleur to look for the source of the voice. He and Fleur turned to see the backside of Alina entering the girl's dorm, before slamming the door loudly behind her.

"What was that all about?" Fleur asked him.

"Who knows what it is about today. Alina is always yelling at me for something."

"Well she is right you know," Fleur told him playfully.

"And what is she right about?"

"You are a tool," Fleur said with a devilish grin.

"And just like that you are in negative brownie points!" he told her, and pretended to look upset.

"Oh no! Not that! I was kidding of course! Here!" Fleur said and before he knew it pulled him into another kiss, which lasted for a good minute before Fleur pulled away from him with a soft moan that drove him crazy. "Am I back to positive now?" Fleur asked him.

"Yeah, I guess that makes up for it," He answered her with another grin.

"Good! And you are welcome for tonight. I also had a lot of fun and look forward to tomorrow," She said and gave him another peak on the cheek before she started to walk backwards away from him. "Goodnight Marik," she said, turning around to leave him. A thought came to his head as he watched her walk away.

"Hey Fleur!" he shouted at her before she got too far away.

"Yes Marik?" Fleur asked him, turning around again to face him with a curious look on her face.

"Will you uhmm. . ." he started to say, but seemed to have lost all of the confidence he had had earlier in the day.

"Will I what?" Fleur asked him, her eyebrow raised.

"Will you be my date to the Yule Ball?" he asked quickly, trying to rip the bandaid off as quick as possible.

"Nothing would make me happier than to be your date to the ball," Fleur replied, causing him to immediately smile. Fleur seemed to be excited and ran back towards him and wrapped him in another warm hug, before giving him one more kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight my date," she told him as she pulled away one more time.

"Goodnight Fleur," He replied as he watched her gracefully walk out of his sight down the hallway. Guess his friends were right, that had definitely been a date; and a pretty damn good one at that.

* * *

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	51. Book4: Chapter 10

**Hermione**

"Why I am I so freaking nervous! I defeated a minotaur on my own and killed a freaking hydra with Harry, but this, this has me shaking even more than both of those combined!" she shouted out to Alina from the bathroom. Her hands were shaking so much it was making pulling the strap of her dress over her shoulder almost impossible.

"Oh would you stop it! Come out of there already so I can see you all dressed up!" Alina ordered. Hermione took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down before walking out of the bathroom and back into her room.

"Wow. That is all I can say, wow!" Alina declared as her eyes darted all over Hermione in her dress.

"Well how bad is it?" she asked Alina nervously, prepared for the worst. Girls like her didn't play dress up. Girls like her wore sweatpants and hoodies. Girls like her didn't pretend to be like other girls and go to fancy balls and put on fancy dresses! After all, you couldn't cuddle up next to a fire and read a book in a dress like this.

"Bad? Hermione you look like a freakin supermodel! Your boobs look huge and your ass looks fantastic in that dress, Harry will be drooling the whole night! I knew I should have gone with a white dress too! Ugh, I wish I looked half as good as you do!" Alina told her, making her blush a little, which was good and helped to calm her nerves down a little.

"Thank you Alina. And you stop being so negative too! I'm jealous of how tan you are! I'm not sure which is whiter, my dress or me," she complimented Alina before pouting again. This type of clothing really wasn't for her and she was sure Harry would notice that.

"Alright we both need to stop it or neither one of us is going to end up making it out of this room!" Alina declared and Hermione noticed that she too kept looking at herself in the mirror nervously.

Both of them had good reason to be nervous today, tonight was the night of the Yule Ball. Normally Christmas evening would have been one of her favorite days, spent at home with her family around a Christmas tree. Today, however, she had spent her day being a nervous wreck.

She and Alina had done Christmas that morning with Marik and Harry. While everyone else seemed calm and collected the entire time, she was panicking on the inside the entire morning. Even Marik, who now hated Christmas since it was the day his parents had been killed and today was the one year anniversary of that day, seemed to be in better spirits than she was.

She found herself countless times getting caught staring at Harry, and more times than that getting caught lost in a nervous daydream. Her anxiety had only been made worse when she received Harry's Christmas present to her, which was a beautiful silver necklace that Harry wanted her to wear tonight. Not only had Harry spent a lot of time and money getting the necklace, but she had also learned that he had even gone so far as to enchant it with a few spells specifically just for her.

The necklace was an amazing gift, and made the small gifts she had given him look like crap. When she had put the necklace on and looked at herself in the mirror it only made her blush and become even more nervous. Of course the necklace was just long enough that its longest point ended just where her cleavage started, meaning that anytime Harry looked at her necklace, he would be looking at her breasts in the process, which meant Hermione would be blushing all night each time she caught him looking at his Christmas gift.

More than the nervous anticipation of Harry staring at her cleavage, was that she honestly had no idea what to expect tonight. She had read up on the Yule Ball as soon as Harry had asked her to be his date. From her reading she had learned that the ball was one of the most romantic events held at school, at least for all but one of the sources she had gone through. For one poor bloke it had been described as "the worst event in the history of the world." Couples would be holding each other closely all night, dancing to slow songs, and stealing kisses when they thought no one was looking, and the braver couples would be sneaking out onto the grounds for. . . well- _more_. That is what freaked Hermione out the most.

She and Harry had kissed the day of the first task. It had been single handedly the greatest few seconds of her life. Even though the kiss had only been for a few short seconds she had wanted nothing more than for it to go on forever. She had cursed the task for ending countless times and interrupting their kiss just as they had started getting to the really good part.

Since that kiss though, the subject of said kiss, what it meant, and what had changed had not been brought up once. She had been too nervous to ask Harry, and Harry had seemed too busy taking care of her in the hospital and researching the clue for the second task to ask her. So, as a result of this, ever since Harry had asked her to be his date she had been in full-on panic mode. She had no idea if she was expected to dance romantically with him, kiss him, or if Harry merely invited her as just as a friend, because he had to attend the dance. The stress of all that combined with the fact that _she_ had to wear a dress and heels all night only made things worse.

Alina and she had gone to a nearby down a few days back to pick out dresses for the ball. Hermione, for some insane reason that she now did not currently understand, had ended up picking a long revealing white dress. The dress had a small trail behind it, and a long slit that started from the floor near her left foot and made its way all the way up to just about her waist, which meant that the dress showed off a lot of her legs when she moved. The top of her dress was held up by a loan strap over her left shoulder and went up high enough to cover her chest, but low enough that it showed off a good amount of her cleavage, if you could even call it that.

The silver necklace Harry had bought for her was made up of three silver chains, each one a little longer than the next. At the end of the longest chain a small blue sapphire was intertwined inside of a weave of silver wires.

For some insane reason, Hermione at the time she bought the dress, had convinced herself that wearing a dress that showed off her legs and cleavage was a good idea. Now, however, as she stood there staring at herself and Alina in the mirror she was wishing she could use her time-based magic to go back and tell that Hermione that she was an idiot.

She had never considered herself to be a conceited person by any stretch. She was certainly a confident person when it came to most things, but she never was cocky, especially when it came to her looks. She had always considered herself to be average in that department at best. Surprisingly though, as she looked at herself in the mirror she thought that tonight she actually looked quite pretty, and kind of hot if she was to be honest.

She didn't consider herself to be an unsightly woman by any means, but she certainly never considered herself to be a thing of beauty either. If anything, by her standards, compared to Alina and the other girls she knew Hermione would say she was just average looking. She didn't have the amazing long and tan legs like Alina, the overly obvious features that some of the other girls she knew did, nor did she have their flowing long hair that she was always so jealous of. However, she thought that her legs, body, and hair looked pretty good tonight as she moved her dress around, looking at herself more in her reflection.

She felt that what she lacked in the leg department of the dress that she made up for in the chest department somewhat, which came as a surprise to her. She by no means had large breasts, they were bigger than Alina's were, but were by no means that big. However, in the dress she thought her cleavage looked surprisingly pretty good, she had never imagined that she would say that about herself, especially while wearing a dress as revealing as the one she was currently wearing was. _Maybe tonight wouldn't be such a bad night for Harry to check out her cleavage._ She wondered to herself.

As her mind started to wonder curiously about what Harry would think about her legs and cleavage in the dress, she quickly had to shake her head of all the thoughts and try and distract herself with something else as her cheeks had again started to painfully blush. She decided to check her hair out one more time.

She had decided to wear her hair down tonight, and after spending a good hour deciding on how to fix it she had settled on just curling it slightly and letting it flow down onto her shoulders like it naturally did. She felt that the look fit her better that way, and made her look more natural, and more like her normal self. Something that hopefully Harry would like and appreciate.

For jewelry, she had decided to keep things simple, mainly because she owned less jewelry than most guys did. After raiding Alina's collection she settled on wearing two silver bracelets and a silver ring that matched Harry's necklace. Altogether, the combination of silver against the white looked pretty good, and fit her quite well she thought.

"So I promise this is the last time I ask you, red earrings, or black earrings?" Alina asked her for the tenth time that night. Hermione looked over Alina in the mirror as her friend turned her head from one side to the other, showing off the pairs of earrings she was undecided on.

Alina had decided to wear a red dress, that was roughly the same length as Hermione's was tonight. Apparently, most of the Durmstrang boys would be wearing black and red wizarding dress robes, so she had decided to wear something that matched her date. The dress was very pretty, especially on Alina whose tan skin and black hair accented it amazingly. Alina's dress was much less revealing than her own dress was, however, Alina's dress was much tighter than hers was, which meant it showed off her legs and the rest of her body just as much. Hermione would have killed for her legs and ass to look as good as Alina's did tonight!

Alina's dress came all the way up to her neck at the front, where a thin black choker wrapped around her neck as the strap of the dress. The back of the of dress was left open and showed off the entire skin of Alina's back.

"For the tenth time I like the red ones. The black ones blend in too much with your hair," she answered her friend. Even though she felt bad that Alina was just as nervous as she was, it made her feel a little better that she was not the only one.

"Okay, red ones it is," Alina nodded and put the second red earring on.

"Do you think I need to do anything else?" she asked Alina, looking herself over in the mirror one last time, scared she might have forgotten an important step.

"Relax a little, Harry is going to love you," Alina told her with a smile.

"Thanks Alina, and Dedrick is going like the way you look too!" she told her friend, trying to help ease Alina's nerves too.

"He freaking better after all the work we did today!" Alina chortled as she finished putting on the earring. "So we have ten minutes until we are supposed to make our way down to the hall, do you mind hanging out here with me until it's time. I'm still not ready to go yet," Alina asked her after looking down at her watch.

"Of course I don't mind. And is something on your mind?" she asked Alina, wondering why her friend still looked so nervous.

"I am just worried about tonight is all," Alina answered her, mumbling her words quietly.

"Why is that?" She asked Alina as she sat down on her bed next to the girl.

"A few reasons I guess. For one, me and Dedrick have only kissed a few times, and we have never madeout before. I'm nervous about how much, _physical_ stuff he is going to want to do tonight. After all this is supposed to be a romantic evening, you know?" Alina explained to her nervously.

"Oh. . . Well you should only do as much as you want, don't let him force you to do anything you aren't ready to do. And I know you like him, but just because you like someone doesn't mean you have to rush things for them. And trust me, you aren't the only one nervous about that. Me and Harry have still only kissed once and I have no idea what it meant or if he wants to do it again."

"WAIT-WHAT? Roll the tape back! When the hell did this happen!" Alina shouted at her in disbelief. It took Hermione a second to realise she had just told Alina that her and Harry had kissed.

 _Oops._

"Uhh it was just a quick kiss after we finished the first task. It got interrupted though when we got portkeyed out," she told Alina whilst blushing again.

"And you didn't tell me! Ugh Hermione, I thought we were friends! What did Harry say about it?" Alina asked her, moving closer on the bed to her.

"We are friends, I just-forgot! And he hasn't said anything. Neither one of us brought the topic up since then."

"I can't believe you two finally freaking kissed! Ugh I am so happy for you Hermione! And you know he is for sure going to kiss you again tonight," Alina said, causing her anxiety to worsen.

"Thanks, and I really don't know that!" she tried to argue, Alina just shook her head though.

"Yes you do. This is Harry we are talking about here. He is going to go all out to make sure everything goes perfect for you tonight and he is going to kiss you at just the perfect moment," Alina said, not helping the pain in her cheeks.

"Well I hope he does. . ." she mumbled. "What else was on your mind, you were starting to say something else before?" she asked Alina, needing to change the topic off of her and Harry kissing.

"It's nothing really. I am just worried I am going to get jealous again tonight and ruin the night. You know how I get when I get jealous or mad, I can't control myself." Alina answered looking somewhat sad and flustered.

"Jealous of what?" she asked her.

"You know what Hermione! Marik is going to be with the freaking supermodel goddess Fleur all night down there. Plus he is going to be all dressed up and cleaned up!" Alina answered her.

"And _you_ will be with Dedrick, your boyfriend, down there. You told me you were over Marik the last time we talked about this. And I thought you were happy with Dedrick?" she asked in disbelief that Alina was still upset about who Marik was with even when she had a boyfriend of her own.

"I am over him, for the most part at least. There are still moments when I feel like I'm supposed to be the one with him though. Then I see him with Luna and now Fleur and reality hits me, that it is them he is kissing and not me. And I am happy with Dedrick, I really am. He is funny, and charming, talented, and I enjoy my time when I am with him."

"Then don't get jealous. You are with Dedrick, and you are happy with him. So be happy with him tonight," she told her friend with a smile. Hermione knew she was no expert when it came to all things love, if you couldn't tell from her unsuccesful love life to this point, but it did not take an expert to see that Alina was not over Marik still, regardless of how much Alina argued the point. Even if Alina was with Dedrick now and no matter how much Alina said she liked the boy, Hermione was not fully convinced on how much Alina actually liked the Durmstrang Champion. A part of her felt like Alina had only started dating Dedrick because Marik had started dating Luna.

Whether Marik was over Alina or not was a complete mystery to her. Marik did not wear his heart on his sleeve the same way as Alina did, and had not brought up the topic ever with her. It certainly seemed to Hermione though that Marik did not still have the same feelings he used to for Alina though. Marik and Fleur had become official just three days after the first task, much to the obvious distaste of Alina. Since then the two of them had become inseparable. Marik looked beyond happy to be with Fleur, much happier than she had ever noticed him looking with Luna, and even if she had not been the biggest fan of Fleur before, the French girl looked happy with Marik too, and it was hard not to smile when she saw how happy her friend was and how happy they were together.

As Fleur started to come around their group more Hermione's opinion of the girl had quickly changed, although she would never tell Alina this. Hermione admitted that she had judged Fleur the first time she saw her based off solely her appearance. She had expected the pretty-part-veela girl to be stuck up, conceited, and your typical popular girl, however, Fleur ended up being quite the opposite, and the two of them actually shared a lot in common.

Fleur was an avid reader who had let Hermione borrow a number of books that even she had never heard of before. She was also an extremely nice person, and had made it very easy to see why someone like Marik would like her, outside of her being extremely pretty. Even as rivals in the tournament Fleur had offered to help them all with practice sessions and assistance with classwork or research. Even Harry approved of Marik's new girlfriend and had told Hermione a few times that Marik seemed to be back to his old self more than usual recently. Though, Hermione was willing to bet that Harry mainly approved of Fleur and Marik being a couple because of how much attention it took off of him in the _Daily Prophet._

As soon as the first photos had been printed in the paper of the new couple under the title: _A Triwizard Affair,_ most of the readers were apparently more interested in the gossip and relationship rumors of Fleur and Marik than reading about the boy-who-lived.

Harry's attitude had seen a dramatic increase with the decrease in negative articles about him and Fleur and Marik didn't seem to mind the attention at all and instead had even begun to send in anonymous owls to the paper's editors starting made up rumors that they both found funny. Yesterday's article on them had been one of their better ones, suggesting that Marik was in fact part leprechaun, and he had lured the Veela into loving him through a large pot of gold. So with all of that in mind, Fleur's presence in their group had made Marik a lot happier and Harry a lot happier, so it was hard not to like the French girl. Unless you were Alina.

"Is there anything else you need to get off your chest before we head down?" she asked her friend again as she stood up and fixed her dress.

"No you are right. I am with Dedrick now, not Marik, and I will have a good, fun night! I look freaking hot right now and am going to go dance my ass off! Well, hopefully I don't actually dance it off cause it looks really good in this dress " Alina said, allowing a smile to come over herself.

"There you go," she replied, laughing at her comments and returning the smile.

"How about you? Do I need to talk about you and Harry snogging a little bit more to get all of your blushing out of the way?" Alina teased her, which of course resulted in her blushing again.

"Shut up! Let's go," she yelled at her friend and dragged her out of her room with her.

The entire castle had been decorated for the Yule Ball tonight. As it was also Christmas, each hallway had been decorated with large Christmas trees, each one with shiny ornaments and enchanted trimmings hanging from its branches. Instead of the normal torches lining the hallways, in celebration of the Yule Ball each of the torches had been transfigured to an elegant glass lantern that almost resembled a muggle street-lamp you might find in a crowded city.

As the two of them made it to the main staircase of the castle, that lead down into the main hall where the dance would be taking place, she found herself awestruck. Their was a giant chandelier that had been conjured at the center of the hall. Hanging down right above the dance floor, it was sparkling and looked to be made of pure gold and diamonds. Underneath the large chandelier was a large dance floor made up of a wonderfully beautiful mosaic of different colored tiles.

Right outside the dance floor were a bunch of round tables, each one with a different colored bouquet of flowers at its center. All around them were dressed up couples, some of whom were already embracing each other in hugs, hand holding, and kisses. She quickly turned her gaze away from all of them before she blushed again. Next to the tables was a buffet table with snacks and drinks all over it. She noted there were glasses of wizard's champagne on the end. She would certainly need some liquid courage if she was to get through the night.

"You look, absolutely breathtaking, and more beautiful than even an angel," a voice she immediately recognized as Harry's said from somewhere near her. Her eyes frantically raced around the hall looking for his. Immediately a smile followed by a blush formed on her face as her eyes found his, his words only just resonating in her head. Harry was standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hand out ready for her to take it. She found herself unable to move though, her gaze stuck on the man before her.

Harry looked. . . so incredible, and so handsome. She couldn't help but let her eyes wander over him briefly. Harry was wearing a deep black set of wizard dress robes. The robes were trimmed with silver and gold at the end of each arm's sleeve and around his neck. On his chest the robes were held closed together by seven silver and gold straps that glimmered in the light of the large chandelier. The robes looked amazing on Harry, and if she hadn't known for a fact that he was her date she would not have believed she could be going to a ball with someone so incredibly good looking.

Even better than his robes was Harry's face. Harry had apparently gotten his hands on some hair-gel and had styled his hair, parting it to the side which allowed some of the longer strands of thick black hair to hang down on the side of his face. He had also decided to shave his scruff of a beard down into a stubble, which she knew he knew was her favorite.

 _God he looked so hot._

"You are lying," she replied still blushing as she recovered from his words.

"Trust me, I am not lying. You look absolutely amazing Hermione. So beautiful," Harry told her again as she made her way down the stairs and took his outstretched hand into hers. A shudder went through her body as their skin touched.

"You look so handsome Harry, who knew you cleaned up so nice," she said to him playfully, unsure of where the nervous Hermione who had been present moments earlier had left to.

"Why thank you. Do you like my robes?" Harry asked her. She smiled when she saw a flash of nervousness in his eyes following his question.

 _Guess she wasn't the only one of them who was nervous. Thank merlin!_

"I love them! They bring out my favorite features of you even more. You look hot," she told him playfully again. He really did look hot. Harry blushed at her answer. "Do you like my dress?" she asked him and spun around for him so that he could see it all.

"Yes, I do. It looks perfect on you. I don't think I will be able to take my eyes off of you in it the whole night," Harry said and squeezed her hand in his. She was surprised when she didn't blush at his words but instead felt a good feeling rush over her body at the prospect of him looking at her the whole night.

"How does the necklace look on me?" she asked, wondering what he thought of his present on her.

"Incredible. I'm happy you liked it," Harry answered her as he looked down at her chest. Again, she was surprised she didn't blush as he looked down towards her chest, obviously letting his eyes linger a little longer than normal there. She found herself surprisingly enjoying the feeling of his eyes on her.

 _Who was she!_ Was all she could think as Harry's eyes rose back to meet hers.

"I do like it a lot. Thank you again for buying it for me," she said, and wrapped her arm around his, bringing her right up against his side.

"Of course. So what do you think about all of this?" Harry asked her, his eyes never leaving hers.

"It's so beautiful in here! I never would have imagined they could put together something like this. It almost feels like a wedding," she answered him as she looked around the hall. She saw off in the distance that Alina had found Dedrick and the two of them were already sitting at a table having a conversation. Hermione smiled when she saw that Alina had a large smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah, it kind of does. Apparently the grounds are decorated all over too. We will have to go check them out after things die down a little, if you want to of course," Harry said, a smile on his face.

"That sounds perfect!" she replied, imagining how pretty the grounds must be compared to the inside of the castle.

"Well hot damn!" someone shouted from behind them. She and Harry turned to see Marik walking towards them, with Fleur wrapped around his arm, pressed up closely against his side. Hermione smiled at the couple as they made their way over to them.

Marik had apparently decided to stick with his muggle roots for the night, as he was wearing a black tuxedo similar to one a muggle male would wear to a wedding. Apparently, Marik had already grown tired of his bowtie as it lay wrapped around his collar hanging to one side. Marik had left the top few buttons on his shirt undone as well and was wearing a white scarf hanging loose around his neck that matched Fleur's dress. He looked quite handsome, and also cleaned up nice too she thought.

Next to Marik Fleur was wearing a white dress. Unlike Hermione's dress, Fleurs dress was a two peice set, the bottom part ending right where it met the floor and stopping right above the girl's belly button, which showed off Fleur's toned stomach. The top part of the dress started right below her breasts, and extended with long sleeves all the way down to her wrists. The entire dress was covered in a floral pattern and was tightly pressed against the French girl's body. Hermione wasn't much of a dress person or a fashion person at that, but even she had to admit that Fleur's dress was beautifully elegant and that the girl certainly knew her fashion.

"Don't you look handsome tonight Marik. And I love your dress Fleur!" she told the two of them has they arrived where her and Harry were standing.

"Thank you Hermione, you look so beautiful in your dress! And Harry you look like quite the charmer tonight," Fleur replied, Hermione smiled in return to Fleur's compliment.

"Hermione you look hot! Harry you better keep her close to you tonight or I may have to steal her for a few dances," Marik said playfully, teasing Harry.

"Thanks Marik! And I will give you one dance, but the rest of the night I am Harry's though," she said still beaming. She wrapped her arm tighter around Harry's and brought herself right up against his body.

"You might be dancing alone tonight if you keep flirting with other girls in front of me Mr.!," Fleur said, teasing Marik with a smile on her face.

"I wasn't planning on dancing with you anyways! Everyone knows French girls don't know how to dance," Marik joked, earning laughs from everyone there.

"Oh, and you British boys can?" Fleur asked Marik playfully with her eyebrow raised.

"First off we are men!" Harry added in before Marik could argue back. Hermione laughed at this.

"Couldn't have said it better myself Harry." Marik high-fived Harry. "And second off, I am American! I will not be lumped into the same category as these ugly British gits," Marik joked in his best American accent. Marik had lived in so many places his accent was honestly a melting pot of everything.

"Really? Right after I just defended our manliness?" Harry said, shaking his head at Marik.

"You both are too much," Fleur said laughing, and wrapping herself tighter around Marik.

"I'm happy for you two," she told them as she watched Fleur pull herself closer into Marik. Fleur's action looked normal, and comfy. As if Fleur had been doing it for years now.

"Thanks? Random, but thanks?" Marik replied, looking confused at her random statement.

"Sorry, it was random, It's just seeing you both together and looking so happy with each other makes me feel happy for you both. Sorry Fleur, Marik is like my little brother, so I always have to play the skeptic and look out for him. At first I wasn't so sure of you two, but I approve of you two being together now." It really did make her feel good that Marik seemed so happy right now. And she was honest with her words.

Marik really was like her brother and she had always felt protective over him. He was the first person her age that she had met in the magical world. All of her first emotions of awe, discovery, and curiosity with magic she had had with him in Diagon Alley, their first ride on the Hogwarts Express, and the boat ride to the Great Hall for their sorting. He was her first friend and she would forever hold him dear for that. Because of that she had to be a skeptic of everyone that entered his life. She had done so with Luna and she had done so with Fleur the same.

"Wow Fleur you just got the Hermione seal of approval stamp. I think that means we have to get married soon or something. I'm not really sure though, this a first for me," Marik joked again, causing Hermione to roll her eyes.

"If I end up drinking too much of that champagne over their tonight I might just end up actually saying yes," Fleur joked and gave the grinning Marik a kiss on his cheek.

"To the champagne!" Marik started to joke, but was interrupted.

"Ahh, there the four of you are!" another new voice said to them from behind them. She and Harry turned to see a very dressed up Dumbledore, who had seemed to have even combed his beard for the occasion. Tonight the Headmaster had donned an extravagant set of wizard robes that had large golden suns that seemed to magically radiant a little bit of light as the robes fluttered. "I am afraid I must interrupt your pleasant conversation as it is time for the champions to gather and prepare for the Champion's Dance," Dumbledore said and waved for them all to follow him.

"Uhhh sir, what is the Champion's Dance?" she asked their Headmaster nervously.

"Nobody told you about the Champion's Dance?" Dumbledore asked them, looking at their group over his spectacles.

"Nope," Harry answered before she could.

"Oh dear. Well we are short on time so I will give you the short version. It has always been a tradition in the Yule Ball for the chosen champions to open the ball with the first dance," Dumbledore explained to them, and for the first time since she had arrived into the dance hall she began to feel nervous again. She had barely been prepared to dance with Harry. Now though, Dumbledore was telling her that she had to dance with Harry with everyone watching.

 _Oh god!_

"Now now, come along the dance will start in a few minutes." Dumbledore waved them on again and led them through the hall to a small room by the dance floor. In the room all of the other champions were gathered, spread across the room talking to their dates. Their group made their way in and nervously Hermione stood in silence, waiting for them to be called in.

"Everything okay?" Harry whispered to her.

"Yeah, just nervous about having to dance in front of everyone is all."

"Don't be. They will all be too distracted noticing how beautiful you look tonight to notice the dancing." Hermione found herself blushing again at Harry's compliment, he was so perfect to her. "That and they will be too busy watching me trip over my own feet," Harry added sarcastically, causing her to laugh and the nervousness to leave her.

"Thanks for being my date tonight Harry," she said, feeling overwhelmingly happy as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks for saying yes. Me and Marik agreed to come together if neither one of us got dates, so you saved me big time," Harry joked again with another smile.

"Awe man! I would have liked to see that! Imagine the article in the paper the next day after pictures got released of the two of you dancing," she replied, laughing at the image in her head.

" _Harry Potter is Britain's and Marik Ose's Chosen One,_ " Harry said in his best Rita Skeeter impression. Hermione's sides started hurting after she found herself laughing for a solid minute straight at Harry's joke.

"Champions please gather round," Durmstrang's Headmaster announced and all of the champions left their dates to make their way to the Headmaster. "You and your dates will mark the official start of the Yule Ball tonight by opening with the first dance. After the first dance you are all free to go about your own buisness and dance as much as your heart desires. The music will begin at any minute, when it does make your way out of here and onto the dance floor. Have fun," The Headmaster announced with a smile and left them all in the room to wait.

"You ready?" she asked Harry, looking up at him from his shoulder.

"You ask me that like we are about to start the second task," Harry laughed.

"It feels like it to me! I was more nervous for this than I was for the first task" she admitted to him honestly.

"I was too. But don't be nervous. You are perfect, and tonight will be perfect," Harry said, looking right into her eyes as he spoke to her.

She felt a warmth rush over her as she felt his hand place itself under her chin and lift her face up towards his. Before she could even react her face was inches from his, and his lips were moving towards hers. She closed her eyes just as she felt his warm lips press into hers. A rush of warmth ran over her body as he kissed her for the second time. The kiss was so magical she could hear strings and pianos playing in the back of her head. No wait, she really could hear pianos and strings playing! That meant the dance was starting!

 _Eek!_

"I'll lead, you follow," Harry whispered to her as he pulled his lips off of hers and led her through the door and onto the dance floor.

Standing around the dance floor were the rest of the students and their dates watching as the champions slowly walked onto the platform. Hermione could feel hundreds of eyes on her as she walked and with each step was beginning to get more nervous. She held Harry's hand tighter and allowed him to lead her towards the center of the dance floor, where Harry promptly turned and placed his free hand onto her hip. Another jolt of warmth shot through her body as his hand touched her body, just above her waist.

Harry and her stood still for a second, both of them just staring into each other's eyes. With a step forward Harry started their dance and she followed his lead. All around them the champions were dancing, and other students were watching, but she didn't notice any of them. Her attention was fully on the man before her, her eyes never leaving his. The two of them danced to the first song of the Yule Ball and all of the nervousness inside her was replaced with an overwhelming feeling of warmth. Harry never stopped smiling at her the entire dance and only let go of her waist long enough to spin her around gracefully before returning his hand.

She was impressed with how well Harry could dance, she had not expected him to be this good. But as gracefully as he could cast a spell, Harry led her around the dance floor like this was all nothing new to him.

The first dance of the ball ended with a loud round of applause from all of the teachers and students gathered around the dance floor. Luckily, Harry didn't let her go, but instead brought her in even closer to him as the rest of the students joined them on the dance floor as the second song began.

For probably an hour, the two of them danced together like that. Harry held onto her tight the entire time and only broke eye contact with her whenever he leaned in to give her a quick kiss. Each time he did that it drove her crazy, and left her wanting to just stop dancing so that she could stay locked in his lips for longer. She almost did just that as the next song ended and Harry pulled away from another kiss.

"I hate when you do that!" She told him, pouting as his lips left hers.

"Hate when I do what?" Harry asked, looking worried that he had done something wrong.

"When you pull away from me like that. I just want to keep kissing you forever," she said, grabbing his hand again.

"That makes me happy, and maybe I can arrange for that a little later. For now do you mind if we take a quick break? My feet are killing me in these shoes," Harry asked her with a smile.

"Yeah, I could use a quick break too. I think I might lose the heels," she said as he started to lead her over to one of the tables. She had been so caught up in all of the dancing that she only now began to realise how much pain her feet were in from dancing in heels for as long as they had. As soon as she sat down she took off her heels and quickly banished them back to her room.

 _God she hated heels._

"So what do you think so far?" Harry asked her as he pulled his chair right up next to hers and wrapped his arm around her. She smiled again as he did and curled her body into his.

"You were right, everything is perfect, you are perfect," she replied, and this time she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"Aren't you two just adorable," Marik said to them as they broke off their kiss and he and Fleur sat down at the table with them.

"We are aren't we," she replied, and gave Harry another kiss on the cheek, making an effort to do it loudly.

"About damn time is all I have to say. Here," Marik announced as he levitated two glasses of champagne over to them. "I brought two more for Alina and Dedrick but I haven't seen them since the first dance," Marik said as he raised his glass up in the air. At the sound of Alina's name Hermione looked around the dance floor but couldn't see their friend anywhere either. "Cheers, to friends, beautiful women, and the fact that Harry finally grew a pair of balls and kissed Hermione!" Marik announced and everyone but Harry laughed and raised their glasses.

"And cheers to Fleur for taking care of Marik after I hex the hell out of him in a few seconds," Harry joked and again they all laughed as they clanked their glasses together.

"Cheers!" they all said in unison before they all took a sip of the champagne.

"So how has the both of your nights been going?" Harry asked Marik and Fleur. Hermione shook her head as she noticed some red lipstick on Marik's neck.

 _Apparently it is has been going good._ She laughed in her head.

"I think it has been going quite well," Marik answered Harry.

"I agree. Although my date has been kind of annoying," Fleur joked and earned a glare from Marik. Both Marik's scarf and necktie were now wrapped around the blonde girl's neck.

"Well my date keeps trying to spin left when you are supposed to spin right!" Marik said sarcastically, Fleur giggled.

"Speaking of spinning, Harry when did you learn to dance like that?" she turned and asked her date curiously.

"I practiced a little before today," Harry told her with a grin.

"Yeah, that and we both found a good book called _Dancing for Dense Dudes_ in the library," Marik added, causing her and Fleur to almost do spit-takes with their champagne.

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, yeah. It was either that or go ask a teacher, so we went the less embarrassing route," Harry said laughing.

"You both are insane," Fleur said whilst shaking her head.

"Well this insane boy needs to dance some more. Come on Hermione, you owe me a dance!" Marik announced as he stood up and extended his hand out towards her.

"Really?" she asked him as she stood up and took his hand.

"Yes really! It is tradition that the big brother gets one dance with his little sister!" Marik said as he dragged her out onto the dance floor.

"You know I am older than you right?" she asked him playfully as Marik placed his hand on her hip. Most guys would have probably tried to take advantage of this situation, but Marik lightly placed his hand high enough on her waist just like an actual brother would when he danced with his sister. It made her smile a little.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, barely!" Marik argued as he started to lead her around the dancefloor. After he spun her the first time she saw that Harry was also currently dancing with Fleur near them. She immediately got a little jealous at the sight of her man dancing with the beautiful girl, but after she saw how high Harry's hand was placed on Fleur's hip much the same as how Marik's was placed on hers she lightened up a little. Even if the guys in her life were sometimes crazy fools, they were still good guys.

"So you happy?" Marik asked her as the song slowed down and their pace slowed to match it.

"About?" she asked him with hey eyebrow raised.

"Oh you know what about! About you and Harry you fool!" Marik replied with a grin.

"Oh, _that_. Yeah, I'm happy," she told him, returning the smile.

"He talked about it nonstop ever since he asked you to be his date you know? And he was worrying about what you would think ever since he kissed you in the tournament."

"He did? And you knew?" she asked him, not believing that Harry had been talking and worrying about kissing her so much, and surprised that Marik knew they had kissed once before.

"Yeah, he did. He kept psyching himself out over thinking it. And of course I knew. Harry and me had a heart to heart a while back and he told me. I'm happy he finally followed through, you two belong together like this."

"You think so?"

"Of course I do. Me and Alina knew this was bound to happen eventually way back in our second year! Now, I know Harry is your best friend, but I was your first friend, and I've always considered myself to be like your brother. So I have to ask. Do you really like him?" Marik asked her playfully.

"Yeah, I really do," she replied with a smile.

"And you know I will always be here to kick his ass if he hurts you right?" Marik told her, and she just laughed a little. It was sweet that Marik was acting like this.

"I know Marik, and thank you. I'm happy for you too by the way. You and Fleur are good together, I think she is good for you and you look so much happier with her. I didn't at first, I thought she was just a Luna rebound at first, but now I really do like her, _little_ brother!"

"Thanks Hermione. Your approval means a lot. Now I know you are ready to get back to tongue wrestling with ugly over there so one more thing," Marik joked.

"What is that?" she asked him, still smiling at all his joking.

"Like I said before, Harry was psyching himself out a bunch about tonight, but he finally calmed down and decided he wanted to do something special for you. He didn't tell me what it was, but whatever it is, even if it sucks try and enjoy it for him. He put a lot of thinking and time into it."

"I will, thanks for warning me," she replied, her mind already wandering curiously what Harry had planned. "And Marik," she added as he let go of her waist and hand.

"Yeah, 'Mione?" Marik asked her.

"You are a good friend," she told him, giving him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"You are too Hermione. Now if you will excuse me, I have a sexy blonde French girl that I would like to go drink some more champagne with," Marik said with a bow and made his way back over to the table they had been at before.

"You two took long enough," a voice said from behind her as two hands wrapped themselves around her waist from behind and soft lips found a spot on her neck. She was unable to stop the soft moan that escaped from her mouth as the warm touch of Harry's lips met the sensitive skin on her neck.

"He just wanted to make sure I knew that he would kick your ass if you ever hurt me or upset me," she teased him as she turned around and brought his lips from her neck onto hers.

"Guess I will have to watch out then," Harry teased back.

"Guess you will," she replied as he pulled her into another kiss.

 _God kissing him felt so good!_

"So unless you want to dance anymore I have somewhere I wanna go," Harry told her as he pulled his lips off of hers again.

"I think I have gotten my share of dancing in, where are we going?" she asked him, curious to know.

"Follow me," Harry replied with a smile and led her through the halls of the castle. The two of them walked in silence as he led her through the castle and up a dozen flight of stairs. Eventually they arrived in a small room, where Harry closed the door behind them. The room was dark and dusty, with boxes of old smelling things all over the place. It was certainly not where she expected him to bring her.

"Uhh Harry. . . Where are we?" she asked him confused.

"Not quite there yet, up here," Harry said as he led her through the dark room towards a ladder. Harry climbed up the short ladder first and pushed the trap door above it to the side. She was thankful that it was a short ladder as it was difficult to climb up in her dress. As soon as she grabbed Harry's hand and was pulled up her jaw dropped at the sight.

Harry had brought her up to the top of one of Durmstrang's many towers. All around the tower candles were lit, and at the center of the tower a large blanket and pillows were spread out on the ground. The tower had a small fence around them and over the fence she could see out into the starry night sky. It was so beautiful, and so romantic.

"Harry. . ." was all she was able to get out as she looked around in amazement.

"What do you think?" Harry asked her as he made his way over to the fence and leaned over its edge to look out at the view. She followed his lead.

"This is amazing. It's so beautiful! You did all this?" she asked him as she looked around at all the candles.

"Yeah, I did. If you don't like it we can go back to the dance hall. I just wanted to spend some time with just you tonight, this was the only place I could think of," he told her, as he turned around to meet her gaze.

"No I want to stay here! It is perfect Harry, you are so perfect" she replied as she moved closer to him and pressed her body up against his, pulling him into another deep kiss. He deserved a few kisses after putting all of this together.

The two of them stood there, leaned up against the railing for a while, both of them pressed right up against each other's body, embraced in a passionate kiss. They kept kissing like that for so long that she felt her legs starting to get a little weak from all the standing and dancing they had done. She fought against the ache in her legs for as long as she could, not wanting the moment to end, but eventually she had to give into the pain and pulled her lips off of his.

"Harry," she whispered into his lips.

"Yes Hermione?" Harry whispered back.

"Can we go, uhm, lay down on the blankets? My legs are starting to shake from dancing in heels all night," she asked him nervously, only now realising what moving spots might mean. Standing and kissing was one thing, laying on a blanket under candlelight and stars was a different thing entirely.

"Yeah, come on," he told her as led her over to the blankets. Hermione was happy to discover that they had all been enchanted with a few layers of warming charms.

"You are perfect Harry," she told him as they both sat down on the blanket.

"How is that?" Harry asked her as he scooted closer to her. She wanted to kiss him again but tried to control herself.

"You just are, in so many ways. You are my best friend, you are amazing at magic, you are so nice to me, you are so smart, you are handsome, hot, and sexy, and of course you are also a good kisser."

"Oh I am?" Harry asked her, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Oh yeah, you are a really, _really_ good kisser," she told him with a wink.

"So you like it when I kiss you?" He asked her playfully, bringing his lips close to hers but keeping them far enough away that it was teasing her.

"I love it when you kiss me," she answered him, not liking him teasing her. She just wanted those lips on hers again.

"Maybe I will have to kiss you some more tonight then," Harry whispered to her.

"I think you should," she told him and pulled his lips into hers again. Harry's mouth immediately started to part hers, and she felt his tongue slip its way into her mouth. She loved the way it felt and the way he tasted. She kissed him back, wanting him to feel the same way she was feeling now. Before she knew it the two of them were in a full on makeout session. She found herself moaning soft whimpers each time Harry pressed his tongue against hers combined with the feeling of his body pressed into her. As they kissed her hands moved around his back and pulled him closer into her; she wanted to feel him more.

At some point Harry had pulled her down onto the blanket, where he had proceeded to lay beside her. She didn't like the small amount of space that had come between them in this position though and wanted more, so she pulled him on top of her so she could feel more of his warm body against hers and have better access to his lips. Kissing Harry felt amazing, the greatest feeling she had ever felt in her life. At least she thought it was the best feeling of her life, but that was until Harry's hand started to roam.

One of his hands had found its way to the back of her neck, where with one finger he was rubbing small circles on her skin softly, causing her to shiver with pleasure with each loop of his finger. The rest of his fingers he was using to push her head closer to his, making each of their kisses even more passionate. What was really driving her crazy though was two other things Harry was doing, one she wasn't even sure he was doing on purpose.

The first thing was Harry's second hand, which was moving all the way up her bare leg, which had escaped into the air of the night through the slip in her dress. Harry was slowly tracing her bare skin with his fingertips all the way from her ankle up to her thigh, and occasionally his hand would caress the inside of her thigh which caused her whole body to shake and each time a soft moan to escape her lips.

The second thing that was really driving her crazy was not Harry's hands but his, well his. . . _thing._ Harry was lying flat on top of her, and through their passionate kisses had ended up with his legs between hers. Each time he pressed his body closer into hers his, _entire,_ body pressed harder onto hers, and right now the universe had aligned itself perfectly so that his, well, his _thing_ would press right into her, well, her _thing._

 _For god sakes Hermione you are not three, stop calling private parts 'things'! You are a lady not a child!_ She internally shouted at herself.

"Harry. . ." she pulled herself away from his lips after a few more minutes of kissing, immediately regretting it as her lips already felt cold.

"Yes Hermione?" Harry asked her, his eyes piercing hers.

"I've never done anything like this before," she told him and took her eyes away from his in embarrassment.

"Neither have I Hermione," Harry whispered in response. Each time he whispered like that she felt a shiver go through her body. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked her, his eyes looking worried.

"No, please never stop," she begged him, pulling his face back into hers and kissing him passionately again. She let one of her hands wander from Harry's back towards his chest where she started to rub his chest through his dress robes. When Harry let out a quiet moan in reaction to her touch it sent her over the edge, and she found herself wanting even more of him to touch.

"Hermione, I want you. . ." Harry whispered. The words pushed her over the edge and sent a wave of warmth through her body, causing her to whimper into his tongue. Harry's eyes stared deep into hers as he spoke and she could not pull her eyes away from his.

 _God I love his eyes._ She thought to himself as she stared back at him, not believing fully what he had just said, and really what was happening at the moment at all. Harry wanted _her_. The boy she had had a crush on since forever wanted _her_ , and was kissing her and making her so crazy right now. She wanted him too.

 _God how much she wanted him too._

"I want you Harry," she moaned back to him as he shifted his body a little causing his member to poke harder against her.

"Are you sure Hermione?" Harry asked her, his eyes full of desire.

"Yes Harry, I'm sure. You are all I want, and all I will ever want," she whispered to him and pulled his head back into hers.

The hand behind her head pulled her softly closer to Harry as they picked up their kissing where they had left off, this time though the kiss was filled with much more passion and emotions. Harry's other hand was now making its way up from her thigh towards her stomach. Harry didn't stop though when his palm landed on her stomach, but instead, continued moving his hand upwards until it wrapped itself around her right breast and cupped it through her dress.

"Oooh, Harry!" she involuntarily moaned at the feeling of his hand around her bare breast. The amount of pleasure she was feeling as Harry kneaded her breast between his fingers was incredible.

"I'm sorry," Harry said and took his hand off. She looked at him and saw that he had thought she had called his name out as a bad thing.

"No Harry, that was a _please-keep-doing-exactly-what-you-are-doing_ moan," she said smiling at him. Harry got a large smile on his face and without saying anything moved back towards her, this time her lips never met his though. Instead Harry's lips found their way to the skin on her open nape, where he proceeded to kiss her with his soft lips and wet tongue. His hand found its way back to her breast at the same time and the two amazing sensations were driving her crazy. She was unable to stop the whimpers and moans from escaping her mouth.

Wanting to make Harry feel as good as she was right now she moved her hand on his chest towards the top strap of his dress robes and unbuttoned it. She continued to do this, moving down his robes one button at a time. She had to pause at the last button though when Harry's hand pulled the top of her dress down and exposed her breasts to the night's air. Immediately her nipples hardened as the cold air touched them, but thankfully Harry's hands quickly found them and began to warm them up again.

As she held onto the last button of his robes she watched as both of Harry's hands cupped and squeezed her breast, each time he did that driving her more and more crazy as jolts of pleasure shot through her. Slowly, Harry's kisses on her neck trailed down her neck, and she watched in disbelief as he made his way down to her chest.

"Oh god Harry!" she moaned loudly, her back arching as Harry's mouth made it down to one of her breasts and began kissing it. More waves and moans of pleasure were sent through her body as he kissed her more, and slowly made his way towards one of her nipples. It was almost impossible not to scream out in all the pleasure. She couldn't wait any longer so she pulled the last button on Harry's dress robes aside and moved her hand into them, finding Harry's warm, toned chest at last.

Harry let out a soft moan as her hand started rubbing his bare chest and the feeling of him moaning onto her breasts only made his soft kisses and warm tongue feel even better.

 _God he was too good at this._ She traced his chest with her hand for a few minutes until Harry trailed his kisses back up to her mouth. As her lips found his again she had the urge to drive Harry as crazy as he was driving her. She pulled his head down to the side and started kissing his neck, the same as he had kissed hers. Harry whispered her name out into the air each time her tongue caressed his skin, but she wanted him to have more still.

As she continued to kiss his neck she let her hand wander south down Harry's body. She felt him tense as her fingertips found the top of his briefs. She ignored it though and lifted the edge of his briefs up and slid her hand into them.

"Holy shit Hermione," Harry moaned out loudly as her hand found what they were searching for. She wrapped her fingers around Harry's already hard shaft. _Good for you Harry._ She thought to herself as she felt its length. The skin was soft and felt warm in her hands. Slowly, she moved her fingers around his shaft, each time causing Harry to moan and his member to twitch. She loved hearing him moan her name out. His penis seemed to only grow larger in her hand the more she stroked it, and each time her hand reached the head it would twitch in her hand and Harry would let out a moan.

Harry pulled his head back up as she stroked him and with force pushed his lips back onto hers. The amount of passion and desire she felt in the kiss from him was equal to her own. As her hand stayed wrapped around Harry's shaft one of Harry's hands began to wander again. This time his hand trailed down from her face, stopping for a minute to fondle her bare breasts again, before moving back towards her legs.

Harry's hand rubbed the length of her leg as he kissed her only changing direction once he reached her calf to make its way back up. Her body shook with pleasure as Harry's hand made its way back up tracing the inside of her thigh. The further and further his hand made its way up her thigh the slower and slower he seemed to move it. At last his fingers found their way to where her underwear was, and softly they began to roam and rub her outside of her lace panties.

"Fuck Harry, that feels so good!" she moaned out, unable to control herself as his fingers touched the outside of her underwear, she was sure he could feel how wet she was already through the fabric. The more he moved his fingers around the more she moved hers around his member. The two of them continued this while they kissed each other for a while, both of them only pausing to let out a moan as the other person found the right spot.

They both seemed to be fighting to pleasure the other person more, and for the most part Hermione felt like she was winning. That was until Harry pulled her underwear to the side and began rubbing her bare pussy with his fingers. She immediately let out a loud moan and her hand left Harry's shaft as she was forced to hold herself down from shaking as the pleasure shot through her body. Things only became worse when Harry slid a finger inside of her.

"Harry, Harry please," she begged him through kisses as his finger slid inside her again.

"Yes Hermione?" Harry asked her in a flirtatious voice as he rubbed her slit again.

"Oh my god!" she moaned again. Harry had began pumping her with one of his fingers while rubbing her outsides with his thumb. Any control that she may have had left disappeared at the feeling of his finger inside of her. It was only made worse when he began kissing her neck again at the same time. Hermione could hear the sound of his finger entering her with each pump as Harry continued and both of her hands found themselves grabbing onto Harry as another finger was inserted and sent her over the edge. Her legs shook and her whole body vibrated as a loud moan of "Harry" escaped her lips again.

"Please make love with me. I want you Harry," she said through more moans as his fingers continued still.

"Are you sure Hermione?" Harry asked her again, as he pulled his fingers out from inside of her. She pouted as it left her, already missing the feeling of him inside her.

"God yes Harry! I have never been so sure of anything in my life. Please give it to me! Please make love to me! Fuck me Harry!" Hermione almost begged him and pushed Harry off of her a little bit. While he was sitting up she pulled Harry's robes off of him completely and for the first time got to take his entire body in its full glory.

"You are so sexy Harry," she told him as she wrapped her hands around his shaft again and began stroking it harder, kissing him at the same time. She smiled as they kissed and he moaned as she moved her hand. She wanted him to take her then but after seeing him completely naked for the first time she wanted to have a little more of him. She bent over him and before he had anytime to react she slipped her lips around his cock and licked its head slowly.

Harry's body shivered and a loud moan of her name escaped him. Filled with an intense desire to have all of him she lowered her lips around him further, making it as far down his shaft as he could. He was so long that she could only get around halfway before the head of his cock pressed against the back of her throat. She placed one hand down on his balls and slowly began rubbing them with one of her hands as she bobbed her head on Harry.

Moan after moan escaped Harry as she did and each one made her wetter and wetter. She loved his taste and the more she sucked and the more he moaned the more she wanted to keep making him feel incredible. As she continued one of Harry's hands found its way to the back of her head and as she pushed her mouth further down his shaft pushed on her head a little, forcing her further down. Hermione thought she might gag as she found her lips pushing further down his cock but she didn't. She continued sucking on Harry's cock for a bit until he lifted her head up from his lap and pulled her into another kiss.

"No Hermione, you are so sexy," Harry whispered as he made his way back on top of her and started pulling her dress all the way down and off. Hermione was embarrassed at first as she lay there in only her soaked panties, but when she saw the look in Harry's eyes as he roamed her body and felt first hand how much the sight of her aroused him the embarrassment quickly went away.

Harry laid back down on top of her and forced another moan out of her as his member, which had been freed from all of its clothing, was now brushing against her pussy outside of her panties. For a few more minutes the two of them stayed like that, both of their hands exploring the other's body until Harry's hand wrapped around her underwear and started to tug them down. She watched him as he pulled them down her legs until he was able to pull them off her foot. Harry then immediately returned to his previous spot.

"Oh my god!" she almost screamed out again as she felt the head of his cock rub up against her now bare pussy. It was a sensation like she had never felt before and one that had nearly made her cum just from a brief touch.

"I love you Hermione," Harry whispered into her lips as he kissed her again. She pulled away from him, unsure if she had actually heard him say that in real life or just in her head.

"What did you just say?" she asked him, confused.

"I said, I, love, you, Hermione, Granger," Harry whispered again, this time giving her a kiss in between each word.

"Harry. . . I . . ." she started to stutter. Harry calmed her nerves down with another kiss though. "Harry I love you," she told him and pulled him in closer to her for their most passionate kiss of the night. Thankfully neither of them pulled away from this one. After a few minutes of kissing she felt Harry's member start to press harder against her opening. The feeling was overwhelming.

"Harry," she whispered as she felt him start to barely open her up.

"Yes love?" Harry asked her, putting extra emphasis on his last word. She blushed as he called her his love.

"Please just go slow at first," she asked him, knowing from stories that this might hurt a lot at first.

"Of course Hermione," Harry whispered back as he once again started kissing her. A jolt of pain shot through her body as Harry slowly pushed his cock further and further into her, spreading her out much more than his fingers had before. She bit his lips in a moan as he slowly arrived all the way inside, his cock filling her in her entirety. Harry, like the perfect gentleman he was, stayed just like that for a few minutes, allowing her time to get used to him inside of her.

After the pain disappeared for the most part Hermione slowly started to rock her hips under Harry's as a sign for him to start going. The pleasure that replaced the pain inside of her as Harry slipped out of her and then right back in was indescribable. Harry started off moving slowly, pulling himself all the way out until just the tip was end before slowly sliding all the way back in, but after a few minutes began to pick up the pace of his thrusts.

Each time she told herself there was no way this could feel any better, but each time she had been proven wrong. It kept getting more incredible and incredible the longer they were together. As Harry picked up his pace it took everything she had in her to not scream out in pleasure, not wanting to wake up the entire castle she started to press her lips into Harry's more and moaned into his mouth each time he thrust deeper inside her.

The sound of his skin slapping hers was driving her just as crazy as the feeling of him thrusting his cock inside her was. Harry was so big and each powerful thrust hit every one of her spots that seemed to send her over the edge. Harder and faster Harry went with his hips making her cum twice with ease. By the time she was closing in on her third time she could hear just how wet Harry fucking her was making her as she listened to the sound of Harry entering and leaving her in between moans.

"Hermione I am getting close," Harry whispered through moans as he continued pumping himself inside her faster and faster.

"Cum Harry, I want you to cum," she moaned to him, unable to think clearly through all the pleasure. Harry picked up his pace even more and she found her entire body bouncing against his as he thrust harder and harder into her.

"I'm c-close!" Harry moaned out again as he pulled out of her quickly and let his seed loose all over her stomach. Hermione reached her hand out and wrapped it around his shaft, stroking it hard and fast as she watched with a satisfied smile as she pumped more and more cum out of him onto her stomach. Strings of cum shot out of Harry all over chest, covering her completely in his seed. After she had seemed to stroke everything Harry had inside of him out onto her belly and chest, Harry fell down onto the blanket beside her. She turned her head to meet his gaze.

"Sorry I made a mess," Harry said through heavy breaths with a smile.

"Don't ever be sorry for that Harry. That was incredible," she replied, leaning forward to give Harry another kiss.

"I don't think incredible is a good enough word," Harry replied, his breathing still heavy. She felt bad that he was so tired now, he had done most of the work and all she had done was just enjoy herself.

"I agree," she said with another smile. Her legs would agree as well as they were still shaking.

"Hermione?" Harry said her name like a question.

"Yes Harry?" she asked him, grabbing one of his hands in the process.

"Did you mean it?" he asked her again, his eyes once again staring deep into hers.

"Mean what Harry?" she asked him.

"Do you really love me? Because I really love you," Harry asked her.

"Yes I meant it Harry. I love you," she told him again and once again his lips found hers.

"Do you want me to clean you off?" Harry asked her, looking at her stomach. She laughed as her eyes looked down at herself, she was completely covered.

"No Harry, I can get it," she answered still laughing and with a wave of her wand her stomach was left spotless. "So tonight was the best night of my life," she told him truthfully as she laid down closer to him and set her wand aside.

"Tonight was the best night of my life too," Harry replied with another warm smile and kissed her forehead.

"Who would have ever thought this would happen?" she said, thinking of what the first year Hermione would be thinking if she went back in time and told her this would be happening to her in a few years.

"I always dreamed it would, never thought it actually would though," Harry answered her.

"God you are too perfect for me Harry," she told him as she cuddled up against his chest.

"No we are perfect Hermione, just like you said before we had our first kiss," Harry told her, making her think back to the time they had kissed in the cavern.

"Should we get back to our rooms soon? I'm sure we already missed curfew. I don't want to leave here, but I don't want you to get in trouble," Hermione asked him, turning her head to look at him.

"No. I think tonight we should stay here. We are Triwizard Champions, they aren't going to get us in trouble. Besides, I'm not done with you yet," Harry whispered into her ear as his lips once again found their way to her neck. She let out another whimper as his lips touched her neck again. "I want to do something real quick," Harry told her as he pulled his lips off of her neck.

"I think we just did do something Harry," she joked as she watched him fumble around in a nearby bag for something. "What are you looking for Harry?" she asked him curiously.

"This!" Harry said in excitement as he found what he was looking for in his bag and showed it to her. It was the pocket pensive she had bought him for his birthday. "I want to store tonight in here forever, so I can always go back and see how beautiful you looked atop the staircase in your dress, so I can look back and see our first dance, and so I can always watch you tell me you love me for the first time," Harry told her, his words brought tears to her eyes. Harry could obviously tell and leaned in to kiss the tears from her cheeks.

"I love you Harry," she whispered again as she pulled him back onto him, and brought her lips to his.

"I love you too Hermione."

* * *

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	52. Book4: Chapter 11

**Harry**

"Good morning beautiful," he whispered as he felt Hermione roll over again next to him on the blankets he had laid out before the Yule Ball last night. Her eyes instantly found his as they opened slowly for the first time that morning.

"Good morning handsome," Hermione replied and leaned forward to give him a soft kiss. He smiled as her lips met his and the many blissful smells of Hermione entered his nose.

 _God he could get use to this._

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked her, and started to play with a strand of her hair that had fallen over her eyes.

"Best sleep of my life, even if you did _wake_ me up a few times throughout the night," Hermione answered him playfully, giving him another kiss.

"Can you blame me?" he asked her as he kissed back, hoping she didn't actually blame him.

"Nope. I enjoyed all the _not-sleeping_ last night."

"I did as well," he added with another kiss.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked him after a few minutes of good-morning-kissing. She rolled back over and stretched. He was sad that at some point last night she had conjured some pajamas to wear and now had clothes covering her body. He already missed the sight of her bare skin, but couldn't really blame her; even with the warming charms it had gotten a little cold out here on the tall tower late in the night.

"Just after seven," he answered her and pulled himself closer to her again, not liking even the smallest bit of separation between them.

"Ugh, I know we have to, but I don't want to leave here!" Hermione groaned as she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes.

"You want to just stay then? I'm sure I can find a way to sneak some food up here," he joked playfully, but secretly hoping that she would say yes.

"That sounds perfect to me," Hermione replied, giving him another kiss. "Although I think our friends will come breaking down doors soon."

"Yeah, they would," he laughed, thinking about Marik showing up to the next task alone while they were both still up here.

"What are you doing today?" Hermione asked him curiously as she rolled back over to face him.

"I was going to go clean up a little in a bit, then me and Marik were going to go get this clue solved today. We only have a week left before the task so yeah, hardcore library day today. We, of course, assumed you would be joining us," he replied with another smile and kiss.

"I could go for a good library day," Hermione replied as she snuggled into his chest.

 _Sweet Merlin he loved when she did that._

"You could _always_ go for a day in the library," he laughed, and gave her a quick peck on her forehead as she snuggled further into his chest.

"Touche," Hermione laughed.

"Hermione, I have a uhmm, question, and forgive me if I am being dumb."

"Ask away, and I doubt you are being dumb," Hermione replied, shaking her head.

"Well umm, after last night and everything. I know we both said we love each other and we both certainly, well uhmm. . . _showed_ it to each other, but I never technically asked you. . ." he started to say, but trailed off a little bit at the end nervously.

"Asked me what?" Hermione asked confused.

"To be mine. I want you to be my girlfriend Hermione. I never technically asked you last night," he answered her, embarrassed. He was sure he was probably the only wizard in history to tell the love of his life that he loved her before asking her out.

"Ha ha ha!"Hermione started to laugh.

"What?" he asked confused at the sudden outburst.

"Of course I will be your freaking girlfriend Harry! I guess we both were so caught up in the moment last night that I assumed we had already crossed over that bridge," Hermione answered him, still laughing.

"Yeah, we both kind of jumped over the whole bridge a bit," he replied, joining in on the laughter.

"Yeah, I guess we did." Hermione leaned forward to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Well, as much as I want to stay here and kiss you, and a few other things. . ." he started to say, whispering the last part into Hermione's ear as he ran his fingers up her thigh, earning a sexy purr from Hermione. "We should get back to our rooms before the entire castle wakes up."

"Ugh fine!" Hermione pouted. "I guess this will be my first ever walk of shame," Hermione added as she picked up her dress.

"Nope, you get to stay in your pajamas! I came prepared," he told her with a smile and pulled out his invisibility cloak.

"You really are the best Harry," Hermione replied and gave him another kiss as he wrapped the cloak around the both of them.

"I know," he joked as he led them down the ladder and into the castle's halls.

Apparently, last night had wore a lot of the students out. As they walked through the castle the normally busy halls were for the most part empty. Only a few teachers and younger looking students were out in about, most likely making their way to the dining hall for breakfast. Altogether, the walk to their dorms was a quiet and easy one, made without any trouble under the cloak. Although, walking through Durmstrang was always quiet and peaceful sense there was no Peeves potentially lurking around a corner. Harry shook his head. For a second he had almost actually missed the crazy ghost.

"I'll meet up with you in the library later then?" Hermione asked him as they arrived at the two Hogwart's dorm doors.

"Sounds perfect. You can take the cloak and give it back to me later. Bye love," he said as he gave her a kiss and pulled the cloak off of him.

"Bye love," Hermione said in return, one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen her give him before, plastered on her face.

 _Merlin I do love that smile._ He thought to himself. After painfully leaving Hermione, he entered the boy's dorms and made his way down the hallway and into his and Marik's room. Upon entry the room was dark and seemed empty, but after his eyes adjusted he could see Marik laying in his bed pressed up on its edge into the wall.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to make an appearance," Marik announced sarcastically from his pillow as Harry tried to tip-toe quietly in.

 _Guess he was awake._

"Good morning," he replied. As if all was normal in the world, he made his way over to his dresser to find a change of clothes, trying not to act suspicious and at the same time mentally preparing himself for an onslaught of badgering from Marik.

"It is a _good_ morning isn't it. I take it that it was also a _good_ night for someone, judging by the fact that you are just now making your way back here now, and are still wearing your dress robes," Marik replied. Harry could feel his friend's grin burning the back of his head.

"It was a _good_ night," Harry replied sarcastically as he found his clothes and went to grab his shower bag, ready to leave this room as quickly as possible.

"You two had sex!" Marik shouted bluntly.

"What? How did you-?" he turned around and asked, wondering how his friend already knew.

"Well it was just a guess, but judging from your reaction you just confirmed it. Congratulations my friend. Congratulations!" Marik said to him as he got out of his bed in nothing but a pair of briefs and came over to give him a hug.

"Uhh thanks," Harry replied, not sure what to say, and slightly uncomfortable from being hugged by his almost naked friend.

"So spill the beans!" Marik shouted at him, pulling him onto the edge of the bed to sit next to him.

"What beans?" Harry asked uncomfortably, already assuming what Marik meant.

"All of the freaking beans! You and Hermione had barely kissed before last night! Now you walk into our room having just slept with her! I wanna hear details! I wanna know the dirt!" Marik said, his grin growing as Harry blushed more.

"I don't know what to say! I took her up to the observation tower last night. We started kissing, things got heated, we told each other we loved each other, and then we had sex. . . a few times actually. . ." he told Marik, mumbling the last part.

"WHAT! Slow down there sally! You two told each other that you _love_ each other already?" Marik asked him, looking amazed.

"Well, yeah," he replied, scratching the back of his head. That had not been the part of the story he had expected Marik to comment on.

"You two are crazy. Everyone but the both of you already knew it, but still, you guys are crazy. And to think _you_ and _Hermione_ had sex _multiple_ times last night. I can't believe it," Marik added, shaking his head.

"I hardly can either," he replied honestly.

"Well how was it? People always say the brainy ones are the best in bed," Marik asked him, the grin on his friend's face was fully grown.

"It was incredible. By far the greatest night of my life ever," Harry told Marik truthfully, feeling flustered at remembering the night.

"Was she hung?" Marik quipped.

"That's funny Marik."

"Well I'm glad you two finally tied the knot, or inserted the knot? Whatever you call it."

"I am too. How was the rest of your night with Fleur by the way?" he turned to ask his friend, wondering what the two of them had gotten into after they parted ways.

"It was great, not as great as yours was apparently, but great. We ended up being the last couple on the dance floor, and probably ended up drinking a little too much of the champagne, and by probably I mean we definitely drank way too much champagne. I ended up dancing with Beauxbaton's Headmistress at some point, and by dance I mean she literally threw me around the dancefloor. Then at some point after that Dumbledore taught me and Fleur a few new dance moves, who would have guessed that the old guy knew so many! He even taught Fleur a spell that keeps your shoes from slipping out on the dance floor! Fleur had had so much champagne though that she messed up the spell and turned the bottom of our shoes into glue; we never did get them unstuck from the floor. Anyways, After that me and Fleur went for a walk around the grounds, but the other Beauxbatons Champions came and dragged her back to her room before it got too late, so I came back here and crashed," Marik answered, rubbing his eyes as he stretched.

"Sounds like a fun night. The Headmaster's didn't care that you both were drinking too much?" he asked in disbelief. It was hard to imagine the Headmasters allowing their students to drink that much.

"Are you kidding me, they both were keeping up with us! Dumbledore said we deserved a night of fun for being Champions, and told me and Fleur a few stories of his time back in his glory days. Did you know that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were good friends in their early days? He told us that once he drank too much with Grindelwald when they were both younger Apparently that was the night he discovered the seventy-eighth use for dragon's blood when he spilled firewhiskey in one of his cauldrons."

"Wow, I would have killed to hear that story," he replied honestly. He always loved learning more about the Headmaster and his teachers and it was hard to imagine the Headmaster acting anything like that.

"Trust me it was fun, but not as fun as sex I imagine. Even if I have never had it before I can guess that much," Marik replied, looking jealous.

"I can't argue with you there," Harry agreed.

"So what's the plan? Showers then library?" Marik asked him.

"Yeah, Hermione is going to meet us there in a bit too. I haven't heard from or seen Alina so I don't know if she will come or not," he replied, getting up from his seat on the bed.

"I doubt she will. Alina was apparently hitting the champagne harder than me and Fleur were last night. Fleur saw Dedrick carrying her back to her room like two hours into the dance last night while I was in the bathroom. Dedrick told Fleur the two of them had danced to just one song before Alina had started throwing back champagne like crazy. Girl will probably be passed out all of today."

"Well I hope she had some fun at least before she passed out," he said. Hermione had told him how excited Alina had been about the ball.

"I'm sure she did, you know Alina is always fun wherever she is. You can get first shower, I'll put some coffee on the pot and pack up our books," Marik told him as he headed over to their coffee machine, which Harry thought was probably the greatest muggle invention of all time, and could not thank Marik enough for finding a way to enchant the device to work without electricity. After all, coffee was a god to them.

Harry made his way to their shower and quickly rinsed himself off, feeling upset as the smell of Hermione left his body. He would be the happiest man in the world if he could always have her smell around him from now on. After finishing his shower, he poured himself a large cup of coffee and finished packing up their materials as Marik took a quick shower. When they were both done, they made their way to the library, found their normal table at the back, and set about getting to work on finally solving the clue from the first task.

So far the clue had bested them in all of their attempts to solve it. No amount of research, guessing, or luck had helped them uncover anything about what the second task could be. Harry had begun to think that getting the clue had been a waste of time, or it most certainly would be for sure if they did not solve it by the time the task started. The only person who hated not knowing something more than he did was Hermione, and he was just about sure if they did not solve the clue today based of his frustration levels, that Hermione would probably lose it.

For the next hour or so, he and Marik continued their research on the clue, trying desperately to find anything that would shed some light. So far that had split up the researching the clue in as many ways as he could possibly think possible to do. They had tried examining individual words, lines at a time, pairs of lines at a time, looking for clues within the letters used themselves, and many more ways. Hermione had gone so far as to even do research into German hidden messages used in the second Great War, but had ended up just learning more about morse code than anything actually useful. Altogether, you could say that the clue was getting on Harry's nerves, and he was ready to be done with it already.

Harry had started his search today on researching more into famous mirrors. Unfortunately, there were little to no mentions of mirrors in any books inside the library. Most of what he did actually find were mirrors enchanted for witches to help them with their makeup, or talking mirrors, neither of which helped them much with the clue. As he closed another book, the level of frustration he was feeling was honestly closing in on max, and he was starting to think it was just about time for them to give up. Thankfully though, from the excited reaction Marik seemed to now have as he bounced in his chair, it seemed like today might finally be there day.

"Harry I found something! I knew looking in children's' books wasn't a stupid idea!" Marik shouted in excitement as he motioned for Harry to come sit next to him. Hoping that Marik had in fact finally made a breakthrough he quickly moved around the table to look over his shoulder.

"What did you find?" he asked curiously, looking at the pages of the book Marik had open.

"So let me backtrack a second to explain, okay?

"Sure."

"Okay, so Dumbledore is the one that physically gave us the clue. And he and Karkaroff are the only two Headmaster's left to design the remaining tasks, since Beauxbaton's Headmistress designed the first and we know each Headmaster was in charge of one task. So with that in mind I decided to start with Dumbledore, and tried to place myself inside his thinking, which is tough as dicks because the guy is a long-bearded-lunatic.

"Dumbledore is quirky, everyone knows he likes weird candy, is fascinated with muggles, and most importantly, thanks to the interview he and the other Headmasters did for the Triwizards Tournament, we know that he enjoys occasionally reading his old children's books. So I decided to get quirky with my research and I picked out a book of wizarding children's books, and in the first freaking one I picked up I found something.

"The book is called _The Lost Sorting Hat._ It is a book that was written by an old professor at Hogwarts, a professor who happened to be one of Dumbledore's professors back in the day."Marik continued.

"What is the story about?" Harry interrupted to ask, curious to know.

"It is literally about the Sorting Hat getting lost inside Hogwart's castle. It is supposed to be a story for incoming first years to tell them all about the rooms and layouts of the castle, and get them excited for their first year. But anyways, listen to this, on the eighth page the Sorting Hat makes its way to the dungeons of the school and the the chapter reads like this:

" _The old Sorting Hat saw scores of doors lining the dungeon's halls. As the Sorting Hat opened door, the Hat found wizards brewing potions, witches crafting runes, and even a teacher casting brightly colored spells, but the Hat still could not find its stool. The Sorting Hat continued further down the dungeon hallway, and continued searching the many doors of the dungeon, finding more witches enchanting objects, wizards solving what looked like puzzles, a room with nothing but flowers inside, and many more rooms that each had something special and magical within their walls. . ."_

"I guess it does kind of match up a little, but only in like two small parts really. There is still the rest of the clue that it doesn't mention," Harry replied as Marik finished the paragraph. Harry looked at the book to reread the passage again, making sure he had not missed something.

"Yeah, but it makes perfect sense!" Marik responded, his voice still full of excitement.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked him.

"The second task _is_ going to be a puzzle, just like Hermione said it might be. If I had to guess I bet Dumbledore is for sure the one designing the puzzle, and he is using this book as the basis for task. I am almost certain that we are going to have to make our way through a dungeon that has a bunch of rooms, and solve a puzzle, or multiple puzzles, inside the different rooms to complete the task." Harry was impressed at all the dots Marik was connecting, and had to agree it did seem to fit, even it was a little bit of a stretch.

"I guess you could be right. . . It makes sense to me," Harry replied, even if they had not solved the entirety of the clue, Marik's argument made some valid sense.

"What makes sense?" a familiar voice asked them. Harry turned his head to see Hermione had finally arrived at the table.

"Hermione you were right!" Marik shouted before he could.

"I usually am. What specifically was I right about this time?" Hermione asked Marik curiously.

"Oh, congratulations on the sex by the way Hermione," Marik said, changing the subject with a large grin. Hermione's eyes went wide and a massive blush appeared on her face.

"YOU TOLD HIM?" Hermione shouted at him causing him to flinch slightly. Thank Merlin that the library was empty for the most part.

"Actually no, he already knew," Harry answered her, embarrassed.

"He told me you were awful in bed by the way," Marik joked, earning two raging glares from the both of them. "Anywayssss, we can talk about Harry's penis later," Marik started to continue. Harry joined Hermione in the blushing they were both now doing as a result of Marik talking about his private parts. "So I found a passage similar to one in the clue. Here read this," Marik said, handing Hermione the book and pointing at the passage. Hermione's eyes quickly began scanning the book over.

"Hmm. . . I definitely think it is too close to just be a coincidence," Hermione stated, rubbing her chin as she finished reading it.

"I agree. I was just telling Harry that I think for sure Dumbledore designed the task, and it is going to be one large puzzle, or a bunch of small puzzles. And I would not be surprised if we have to make our way through a dungeon filled with multiple rooms like the ones mentioned in the story," Marik confirmed to Hermione what he had told her moments earlier.

"What about the rest of the clue? I agree with your hypothesis, I figured it would be a puzzle of some sort with the reference to a missing piece, but what about the mirror part and the end your years part?" Hermione asked Marik, still not looking completely sold.

"Those could be clues for the actual puzzles once we are inside maybe?" Marik added, not sounding entirely confident with his guess.

"It would make sense for Dumbledore to put the clue to what the task would be at the beginning of the riddle," he added, starting to feel Marik was right on the money.

"Why do you figure that?" Hermione asked him curiously.

"Well I think if you look at the clue as being multiple clues instead of just one clue it makes perfect sense, especially if we will be solving multiple puzzles. For example because of the first two lines it led us to finding the passage Marik found. So now we know we will be in a dungeon opening doors or rooms with puzzles. Inside the dungeon we can assume the next lines like _the mystery, what's left, missing piece, mirror,_ and the remaining lines are all clues for the puzzle or puzzles inside. Does that make sense?" Harry asked them.

"So you mean like the remaining lines of the riddle are pieces of the puzzle as well?" Hermione asked him, he could see the cogs turning in her head.

"Yeah, and the passage Marik found is the first piece of the whole puzzle," Harry replied, thinking they were for sure on to something.

"Well, what does everyone think. I think it is more obvious the longer we look at it. I think for sure now that the first part is the main clue to get us in the right direction and know what to expect, and the rest of the lines will help us once we actually get started."

"I think I agree, and it is the best we have at the moment," Harry added truthfully.

"So the second task is a puzzle. How do we prepare for a puzzle?" Hermione asked them.

"Now that part I don't know," Marik replied.

"What did the sorting hat see inside the rooms in the story?" he asked, wondering if Dumbledore might possibly use the same rooms for the task.

"Uhh gimme a sec," Marik said, raising a finger up as he scanned the book for the passage again. " _The Hat saw wizards brewing potions, witches crafting runes, and even a teacher casting brightly colored spells. . . more witches enchanting objects, wizards solving what looked like puzzles, and a room with nothing but flowers inside,"_ Marik finished reading the passage again.

"Do you think Dumbledore would use the same types of rooms in the actual task?" Hermione asked, not looking too sure herself of the answer.

"I don't know, but I think we should prepare ourselves to be ready for each of the things the Hat saw," Harry answered, it was their best option to date.

"I agree, which means going into this we need to be ready for the possibility of six different rooms. Even if there are more rooms than the ones mentioned if we at least go in ready for these six we will be better off than the other teams," Marik added.

"So how do you want to divide the preparation up?" Hermione asked the two of them.

"Hermione you prepare for the potions and also try to see if you can find anything about what area of magic the part about _looked like puzzles_ could be. Marik you are in charge of runes and the flowers, sorry, and I will take brightly colored spells and enchanting. Sound good?" He asked the both of them.

"Sounds good to me," Hermione replied with a smile.

 _There it is._ He thought to himself at the sight of her beautiful smile.

"Ugh, I hate flowers and herbology!" Marik groaned as his head landed on their table.

"It could be worse, it could have been a puzzle based only on divination," Harry joked. Their group never liked saying the _D_ -word.

"That is actually a smart idea," Hermione said, he could see the wheels turning inside of her head again.

"What is?" he asked, not sure what she meant.

"Now you have gone and done it," Marik groaned again from the table.

"We should all look up a bunch of stuff on divination, just in case their is a puzzle based on divination," Hermione replied and immediately started rummaging through her bag for a book.

"And on that note I think it is time to take a break and go grab lunch down at the dining hall, bye!" Marik said in a rush as he stood up quickly and bolted from the table.

"Hey get back here!" Hermione shouted as Marik turned the corner around the shelf.

"I agree with Marik, bye, I love you still though!" Harry quickly added and stood up and gave Hermione a kiss as he followed Marik's lead and bolted out of the library. Nothing sounded worse than reading about divination the rest of the day.

"Hey I just got here!" he heard Hermione shout. "But I love you too Harry! Hey, Wait for me!" Hermione shouted again as he made his way to the door of the library. He couldn't stop the large smile that appeared on his face as he heard Hermione say I love you. He stopped at the door and turned to wait for his girlfriend. It still felt a little strange to call Hermione that.

"Thank you for waiting," Hermione said with another smile as she made her way over from their table to the door of the library.

"Of course my love," he replied flirtatiously, and gave his girlfriend, and the love of his life a warm kiss.

* * *

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	53. Book4: chapter 12

**Marik**

"Ugh, why do these tasks have to be right after breakfast? Don't the Headmasters know Saturday is one of our only days to sleep in." Marik groaned out in anger as the alarm clock next to his bed started to go off.

"Well it's not like either one of us was actually asleep anyways," Harry argued as he plopped onto the floor and started stretching.

"That's beside the point! It's about the principal!" he attempted to argue halfheartedly. He was much too tired to put effort behind into his argument though.

"What did you end up reading the rest of the night?" Harry asked him as he started adding beans into their enchanted coffee grinder.

" _Perry Ponsinboat's Biography of Gellert Grindelwald,_ " he replied, closing said book and placing it on his nightstand as he smacked his head against his pillow a few more times. Not even magic could solve the world's problem of never wanting to get out of bed.

Even though he and Harry had both tried to go to bed around ten o'clock last night, both had thrown in the towel just after half an hour in, knowing that there was no way as anxious as they both were that either one of them would ever be able to fall asleep.

After admitting defeat they both had set out on some last minute prep and practicing before the second task, just as they had ended up doing before the first task. Marik had chose to practice a little at carving runes with a normal rune stave instead of using his unicorn stave, that way he would be able to solve any possible puzzles that dealt with runes in this task with any materials given. It was tough at first, using the unicorn stave really did spoil you, but after a while he had gotten back into the groove of carving runes at the slower pace with the normal stave and managed to brush up on a few different types of runes.

After going through around twenty rune-stones, Marik helped Harry with the research he had been doing on difficult enchanting spells. The two of them after a few hours made fantastic progress and had even managed to enchant the ceiling of their dorm room to be see-through. Though the satisfaction of this was short lived, and finding the counter spell for the enchantment was where they spent the remainder of their night, as they discovered that their room was apparently under one of the many male bathrooms of the castle; which was not the prettiest of sights to behold whilst laying in your bed or trying to study.

Altogether, even if they were tired and exhausted this morning, they had made good progress last night with their last minute preparations and were both feeling confident going into the second task. Plus, they had coffee to give them energy and wake them up, and that was one of the most magical things in the world.

"Why did you read that? How is Grindelwald going to help us win the task?" Harry asked Marik as he added the now grinded beans to the coffee pot.

"By keeping me sane. I needed a break from all the puzzles and research. If I saw one more rune, puzzle, or book on herbology last night I might have killed myself," Marik answered truthfully. He had always loved learning more, especially when it came to magic, but this week he and his friends had been putting too much stress into their research and it had taken its toll on him mentally.

"Let me guess, you were looking for clues about the Deathly Hallows?" Harry asked him, already knowing the answer to his question. The both of them made their way over to the two chairs by their desks on the other side of their dorm as he did, both of them waiting anxiously for the coffee to finish brewing.

"Yeah, I was," Marik replied, a yawn interrupting him as he did.

"Well any leads?" Harry asked, not sounding entirely interested in his answer. Harry still seemed to think the topic and idea of the Deathly Hallows being real was slim to none, and only seemed to get annoyed when Marik claimed that Harry's cloak fit the criteria of the Cloak of Invisibility perfectly.

Marik on the other hand was still just as obsessed with them as the first day he had read the _Tale of the Four Brothers_ with Luna. He had grown up a fantasy nerd, and a large portion of his childhood had been spent pretending to have the-one-ring-to-rule-them all, pulling Excalibur from the stone, or shooting Apollo's bow. Every day spent in the magical world felt like he was living in one of these epic fantasies, and researching and reading about the Deathly Hallows felt like he was one of his favorite characters on a quest for an epic item. Regardless of if they were really real or not, the chase and the dreaming of the Deathly Hallows pleased the child who was very much still present inside him.

"Not really. Grindelwald's home and possessions were all taken custody when he was arrested by the German Ministry of Magic, so if he did in fact have the Elder Wand, either the German Ministry is keeping quiet about it, or someone took it before they got a hold of him," he answered Harry, shooting up as the coffee pot seemed to have finished brewing. He quickly made his way over to it and poured himself and Harry a cup each before returning to his seat.

"Thanks," Harry replied as Marik levitated a cup of coffee over to him. "Well, have their been any recent reports about someone not losing any duels or anything else?" Harry added as they both took satisfying sips from their cups.

 _God coffee is the greatest thing ever!_ He thought to himself as the warm liquid entered his mouth.

"Flitwick hasn't lost a duel in over fifteen years, but his wand is registered and weighed before every European Dueling Master Tournament and it is the same one he has always had since he was a student at Hogwarts, so it isn't him.

"The only other names that I have seen mentioned is an auror named Moody or something like that who is known as one of the best auror duelists, and one of Voldemort's old death eaters who was known as the _poison tongue_ and was known to have beaten over fifteen aurors in duels back during in the war, but he hasn't been seen since then." Basically the more research he did on trying to discover where the Elder Wand might be now, the more he started to understand why people speculated the objects were a myth.

"Doesn't Luna's dad publish a monthly rumor article on the hallows? Has that helped at all?" Harry asked him again.

"Yeah, he does, and kind of I guess. Most of it is unconfirmed speculation though, so it doesn't really help too much." The articles in the _Quibbler_ were about as accurate as muggle articles on UFO sightings to be frank.

"Have you talked to her since you two broke up by the way?" Harry asked him, looking curious.

"Yeah, I did two days ago actually, it was random as hell," he said, remembering the random, encounter with Luna from a few days back.

"How did that go?" Harry asked again as he poured himself another cup of coffee.

"Surprisingly civil. She came up to me and told me that while she was still upset with me, that if I ever needed someone to talk to or anything she would be there for me. I apologized for being an ass and told her pretty much the same. I expected her to hex me or something so I was kind of caught off guard. She even wished me better luck on my relationship with Fleur," he said to Harry. The entire encounter had truly thrown him off guard, but Luna seemed to mean her words.

"Sounds like Luna to me, I can't imagine that girl actually getting angry at anything. She is always too nice."

"I can, I experienced that anger first hand. That girl can get pretty scary." Luna had certainly let him have it in the hallway before the first task when she broke up with him.

"Well I guess we could go ahead and head to the dining hall now. I imagine Hermione will probably show up there pretty early too," Harry said, banishing his now empty cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I guess so, I'm pretty hungry already anyways," he replied, wanting to tease Harry about really just wanting to hurry up to the dining hall just so he could see Hermione, but too tired to put the effort into it.

"Think we will need anything for this task?" Harry asked him as he started to put on his battle robes. Marik thought the robes Harry and Hermione had been given by Harry's father were nice, but he still preferred his old robes he had made for himself back in his first year, his were more badass.

"I doubt it, I'm sure they will provide it all again if we do," he answered, summoning his robes from his dresser and put them on. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Harry replied, and the two of them made their way out of the boys' dorms and towards the dining hall.

It was no surprise that the hallways were already crowded that morning. It was no mystery that the tournament was an extremely popular event and that everyone in the castle woke up early to ensure they got a good seat in the dining hall to watch it. As they made their way to the dining hall Marik could see that students had even dressed up and made enchanted banners for this task to cheer their school's champions on. It sort of reminded him of the summer dueling tournaments, only on a much smaller scale.

As they entered the dining hall he was reminded of the summer dueling tournament even more. All around them, sitting at the tables, students were wearing their school robes, waving custom-made banners, and shouting chants for their schools. As soon as the Hogwarts section noticed that he and Harry had made their way into the hall the few Hogwart's students that were there stood up to give them a round of applause. Marik couldn't help but grin a little as many eyes in the hall turned to them, he loved moments like this. To the beat of the cheering he and Harry made their way over to their school's table and found a blushing Hermione already sitting there next to a tired looking Alina.

"Morning love. Morning cuz," Harry said, greeting his lady with a kiss as they sat down at the table.

"Yeah, good morning love," Marik added sarcastically as he immediately poured himself another cup of coffee and set out looking for any bread on the table.

"Good morning love," Hermione said to Harry, returning his kiss. "And good morning Marik," she added, sticking her tongue out at him. "Did you guys get any sleep last night? I didn't."

"Nope," Marik answered as he found the bread basket. He groaned as he saw Alina had already taken the butter bowl, he was too tired to try and steal it.

"We ended up just practicing some more stuff last minute again," Harry answered.

"Yeah, I did too, I read a lot more of that book we found on advanced charms last night," Hermione replied.

"Find anything good?" he asked, stuffing a biscuit into his mouth.

"A few new spells here and there, but nothing too interesting," Hermione answered, she sounded just as tired as they did.

"Why didn't you all just take a sleeping potion last night? You all are wizards for Peeves' sake," Alina asked them, sounding grumpy, which honestly had become a norm for her recently. The three of them looked at each other wide-eyed, apparently none of them had thought of the simple solution. "You all can kill a hydra, but can't solve a simple problem like that. You guys are screwed today if the task really is puzzles," Alina added, shaking her head.

"Thanks for the confidence Alina," he replied sarcastically.

"I'm too tired for confidence today," Alina replied coldly.

"Why are you so tired?" Harry asked Alina.

"Don't ask," Alina replied, making it clear she didn't want to discuss whatever had kept her up.

"Sooo, besides being tired Hermione you think you are ready for today?" Marik asked his friend, attempting to change the subject.

"Yeah, I am, those minotaurs today don't stand a chance!" Hermione joked.

"Ha ha ha. You can have all the minotaurs, I just want more action today than last time," he replied. Ever since the first task he had been desperate for a little more action in the second task.

"But we did so much better without you in all the action," Harry joked, earning a scorn from him.

"Wow, so that's how it is huh?"

"Mind if I butt in for a few seconds?" a familiar voice said from behind him, he felt two warm arms wrap themselves around his neck as the voice spoke. As he turned his head he was welcomed with a warm kiss on the lips.

"Yes," he heard Alina mumble from the other side of the table.

"Morning pretty lady, sit," he ordered Fleur as he returned her kiss and motioned for her to sit down beside him.

"How are you all doing today? Ready for the task?" Fleur asked them all as she stole a piece of bread off his plate and sat down beside him.

"I will see you guys later, I have stuff to do. Good luck out there today," Alina said and left their table before any of them could reply.

"Tired as hell," he replied first, taking advantage of Alina's random disappearance to grab the butter bowl.

"We are ready. How about you and your team?" Hermione asked Fleur.

"We are all tired too, it is so hard to sleep the night before a task," Fleur responded, having to pause for a yawn before continuing. "And we are all ready too. Don't think we are going to go easy on you all this time either."

"It wouldn't be fun if you guys did," Harry replied, returning Fleur's smile.

"I over heard from a friend who was Viktor Krum's date at the Yule Ball that the three Durmstrang champions got a lot of heat from their Headmaster for coming in last in the first task, so I wouldn't be surprised if they come out swinging this task," Fleur told them all.

"Let them swing, we all saw how that ended up last time for them," he replied smugly, Alina's boyfriend the first image that came to mind at the thought of Durmstrang coming out aggressive.

"Yeah, I'm not too worried about Durmstrang right now. They will have to demolish this task to make a good comeback." Harry added.

"Well you never know! They aren't too far behind us at the moment either. Hermione did you get the chance to read that book yet?" Fleur asked Hermione. Much to his surprise the two girls had gotten fairly close since the Yule Ball even though they were rivals in the tournament. As much as Hermione told Marik that she approved of Fleur because of how happy he looked with her, Marik still secretly thought it had more to do with the fact that Fleur was about a big of book worm as Hermione was. Over the past few days prying Fleur away from Hermione in the library had been a tough challenge.

"I got about halfway through it, but I will probably finish it after the task tonight. I love it so far, thanks again for letting me borrow it!" Hermione replied.

"No problem! And let me know when you read the chapter on alternatives in the _murtlap essence._ I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it. I will leave you all to your planning for now. I just wanted to give my man a kiss before the task started and wish you all luck. We are enemies now for the next few hours," Fleur told them all, giving him one more kiss on the lips before standing up.

"Good luck to you and your team too," Hermione replied.

"No hard feelings if I have to jinx you a few times today right?" he teased Fleur as she started to leave their table.

"Of course not, just don't expect any affection on our date after the task," Fleur replied with a wink as she left their table for the Beauxbatons table.

"Guess I have a date today," he announced, this being the first time he had heard of said date.

"Don't let a date or Fleur distract you," Harry told him as Fleur left.

"Oh come on, you know it wouldn't. You guys are the ones who need to stay focused, no shag breaks today if the two of you end up alone together!" he joked, enjoying the blush on both of his friends' faces at the mention of shagging.

"Anywayssss, if the both of you are done let's go ahead and head down to the champions' tent, I wanna get away from all the distractions here and get focused," Hermione said, packing the book she had been reading back into her bag.

Figuring he had gotten about as much coffee as he could into his system, he snagged one more roll for the road and followed Hermione and Harry out of the hall. The outside of the castle was just as packed with supporters as the inside of the castle was. It was a rare warm day in the month of February out here at Durmstrang and everyone seemed to be taking full advantage of that. Two large screens had been set up outside on the lawn and a large number of students and staff were all trying to set up blankets in the grass to get the best spots. Many braver students had set up hammocks throughout the branches of the many trees lining the grounds of the castle and were watching the large screens from a higher vantage point.

He had not known the task was broadcasted during the first task until afterwards. The fact that almost the entirety of Europe was watching them during their tasks may have made some of the champions nervous but not him, he loved it. He was all about the moment, and he would take advantage of whatever he could to get his name out there in the world as one of the best wizards there was. This was no different than the summer dueling tournaments for him.

The champions' tent had been conjured in the same spot as it had been during the first task and the three Headmasters were already standing outside of its gate, deep in a conversation. The three of them greeted the Headmasters before making their way into the empty tent, where they made their way over to the Hogwarts section and grabbed their seats.

"Think we can win this again?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence after a few moments as they all sat there deep in thought.

"I do," he replied confidently.

"We have the advantage over everyone else since we have the clue, I think we will do fine," Harry added.

"Let's all just do our best out there. We will be okay," he added again as the tent door opened and the Durmstrang champions walked in. The rumor Fleur told them may have very well been true. Each of the Durmstrang champions looked ready for war, and all of them seemed to look a little on edge as they sat down. Alina's boyfriend in particular looked ready to hex someone at any moment, and at that moment he was making his way over to where they were seated.

"Ose. A word?" Dedrick asked him, his voice full of ice. Marik shrugged to Hermione and Harry as he got up and walked over to where Dedrick was waiting for him.

"What's up?" he asked curiously.

"I've been nice and ignored you up until this point out of respect for Alina, but I've had enough of your smug ass now. You got lucky in the first task, but that won't happen again. I'm giving you a friendly warning because I know Alina considers you her friend still for some reason, if I see you in this task, the final task, or even in the hallways watch out." Dedrick said, trying to sound threatening.

"Watch out for what?" he asked, not able to hide the grin on his face that was growing.

"Alina's friend or not, I will slaughter you," Dedrick replied with venom, his finger poking into Marik's chest.

"In that case I hope we cross paths today. Hopefully, I will actually have a wand like you did the last time and we can have a little more, _fun,_ " he said to the Durmstrang boy, his grin hurting his cheeks now. Marik's grin stayed plastered on his face as he turned from the fuming champion and made his way back to his friends in the Hogwarts section.

"What was that all about? He looked pissed," Hermione asked him as he sat back down.

"He wanted to give me a friendly warning," Marik answered, laughing a little.

"About what?" Harry asked.

"That whether I am Alina's friend or not if we ever cross paths again he will "slaughter" me, apparently, I got lucky last time. Who knew?" he replied, shaking his head.

"Well you have my blessing to let him have it again if you two do cross paths again. I don't care if he is Alina's boyfriend or not," Hermione replied, her eyes moving around and scanning the Durmstrang champions.

"Meh, the dudes a chump. He's all yours this task, I want to fry the bigger fish," he said. This task he wanted to take down a hydra or a dragon, Hermione and Harry could have the easy duels.

The three of them sat in silence for the next few minutes as they waited for the rest of the champions to arrive. Each of them mentally prepared themselves for the second task on their own. More than fifteen minutes passed before the Beauxbatons Champions arrived, followed shortly after by the three Headmasters.

"Champions, gather round," Dumbledore announced, and the champions of the three schools made their way over. "The second task is about to begin, but before it does I have a few words for you all. I was the Headmaster in charge of designing this task and thus will provide you with the task's instructions," Dumbledore announced to the champions, and he, Hermione, and Harry all made eye contact as Dumbledore confirmed their guesses that he was in fact the Headmaster in charge of designing this task.

"In the first task you were challenged in many ways. You were forced to weigh individual skills and assign roles, you were forced to show great courage in times of overwhelming fear and situations of grave-danger, and you were given the opportunity to show the world that you truly belong here and deserve the right to be known as a Triwizard Champion.

"In a few moment's you will be transported into a different location and as soon as you arrive the second task will begin. When you arrive at the chosen destination there will be one path for you to follow. All you and your team have to do is make your way to the end of the path. You will know you have made it to the end and finished the second task when you find a miniature Goblet of Fire that looks like this." Dumbledore paused to show them all a small golden cup that resembled the larger Goblet of Fire perfectly.

"The second task is not over until you have the cup in your hands, and fireworks go off around you. There will be no clues awarded in this task, and no optional objectives either. There is only one objective in this task, and that is to find the cup. Scores will be awarded at the end of the task just as they were during the first task. Now, good luck," Dumbledore said with a final twinkle of his eyes and a large smile as he handed each of the teams a sock, which Marik assumed was their portkey for this task. Hermione took the portkey from their Headmaster and the three of them held onto it and waited to be taken to the site of the second task. With a quick jerk Marik's body was tossed and warped as he was pulled through the portkey.

"Well it looks like we were right," Harry announced as the three of them landed on a hard stone floor. Marik looked around the room they had been transported to as his eyes adjusted.

The sock had transported them to a large, square room that looked very similar to a classroom one might find in the Hogwarts dungeons. The only major difference between the room they were currently inside of and a normal dungeon classroom were the lack of desks and chairs in this one, other than that it was for the most part identical.

The dungeon room had four walls surrounding them. Each of the walls were void of any extravagant designs or details and were made up of only the familiar grey castle bricks of Durmstrang. The wall that stood directly in front of where they had landed was the only wall that stood out as being any different than the others. At its center was a large, wooden oak door, that glimmered and appeared to have glowing spells or magic flowing all over it.

The magical door, however, was not the most interesting thing inside the room, that title went to the large, _thing_ , at the room's center. Floating dead center in the room was what resembled a very large board-game dice. As the large dice floated and rotated around he could see that each face of the dice was a different color and there were no numbers on any of the sides. Marik could honestly say that he had never seen something like this before.

"So I guess this is the first puzzle?" he said to no one in particular as he and his friends looked around the room, trying to take it all in.

"I guess so," Harry replied, he looked just as awe struck as Marik did as they continued to scan the room.

"Does anything from the clue strike you as you look around the room?" Hermione asked them as she too glanced around the dungeon.

" _The mystery should be one of your fears?_ Maybe? Nothing in particular really jumps out here though," he recited the third line of the clue, not sure if it actually applied to this room or not.

"Maybe. . . Let's look at the door first, I'm assuming when we complete whatever we have to in this room that it will open. Let's see if we can find anything out from the spells on it," Harry added and Marik and Hermione followed him over to the large door.

Marik examined the door closely but was unable to make out what any of the enchantments or spells were just based off of looking at the door itself, he had never studied enchantments that much in his time at Hogwarts so far. The only thing he could make out was that there was definitely multiple spells weaved into the door's magic.

"Anything stand out?" he asked his friends after a few moments of examining the door.

"Not to me," Harry replied, scratching his head.

"Me either. Actually. . ." Hermione added, her head turning between the large floating die at the center and the door.

"Well?" Harry asked her after a few moments of silent anticipation.

"There are six different colored bits of enchanted magic on the door. The same six colors that are used on the dice's sides. Look," Hermione explained and he and Harry checked her work to see if she was right. Sure enough the colors of enchanted magic on the door were the same colors that appeared painted on the faces of the dice.

"So maybe that means that the spells sealing the door are the same spells on the dice. Meaning the spells on the door are probably connected to the colors on the dice," Harry said, Marik's hand returning to scratch his chin as he thought it over.

"So the dice is the puzzle then," he added the obvious bit of information, really just trying to help him clear his thoughts.

"Do you see anything else on the dice or in the room that might help us?" Hermione asked as she started to walk around the room, looking for any more clues that might reveal something.

"I'll think about the clue for a minute, see if anything matches up," Harry replied as he too walked around the room deep in thought. Marik followed their lead and made his way back over to the dice to see if he could find anything else that could help them. He was already starting to get a headache from all the thinking this early in the morning.

"Guys look at this!" he announced in excitement after a few moments of examining the dice.

"What is it?" Hermione asked him as she and Harry made their way over.

"Harry or Hermione can one of you transfigure a notepad out of something in the room?" He asked before answering them, his eyes still focused on the dice.

"I got it," Hermione replied as she transfigured two stones on the floor into some parchment and a quill.

"Okay, now look," he started to say as he pointed at the bottom right corner of each of the dice's side as it rotated. "Each side of the die has a small letter engraved onto it, maybe the letters are a clue or spell out something that will help us figure out what to do," he explained, hoping this would help them make a breakthrough with the puzzle.

"Read them off and I will write them down," Hermione told him.

"Right, _r, y, b, g, o, w_. Got them?" he asked as the last letter on the dice came into vision.

"Yeah, _r, y, b, g, o, w_. . . There is no way this spells out anything with these letters," Hermione proclaimed if she red the letters out loud again.

"Maybe two words?" Harry asked, looking hopeful.

"Hmm. . . I can't think of anything," Marik admitted as he tried to come up with something.

"I can't think of anything either. I think even with these letters we are looking at it the wrong way," Hermione said, looking puzzled and annoyed.

"Well let's think about what we see and what we have found so far. Maybe it will clear our heads," Harry replied.

"Six sides of the dice, and six strands of magic on the door," Marik said first, thinking about what else they had discovered in the room.

"And each side of the dice has a distinct color that matches a color strand of magic on the door," Harry added.

"And there is also one random letter written on each corner of the dice," Hermione finished and the dungeon room went to silence as they all stood there deep in thought.

"Wait! What if the letters aren't random, look!" Harry said and pulled them back closer to the dice. Marik looked on hopefully.

"What am I looking at?" Marik asked still confused.

" _R_ is on the red side of the dice, _y_ is on the yellow side, _b_ is on the blue side, etc. The letter matches the color on each side," Harry answered him, looking happy at his discovery.

"Okay, so maybe the letter stands for the color, but what does that mean?" Hermione asked, looking still lost on what to do.

" _The Sorting Hat saw even a teacher casting bright colored spells!_ In one of the rooms in the story the Sorting Hat stumbled across a room where a teacher was casting bright colored spells, maybe we have to cast spells that match the colors," Marik answered in excitement.

"That does line up and make sense. . . what about the letters though?" Hermione replied, still deep in thought.

"Maybe the letter is the first letter in the spell too? So for the red side we have to cast a red colored spell that starts with _r_?" Harry said throwing out a guess, not sounding to sure of the answer himself.

"It's our best bet right now, let's try it out!" he said, his mind already trying to think of a spell.

"Does anyone know a spell that starts with _r_ that is red in color? My mind went to _reducto_ but it is blue," Harry asked them.

"Let's try a spell that is red first but doesn't start with _r_ to determine if the letters have significance first. For all we know they could be used for something later on, or just be there to throw us off," Hermione told them after a few moments of thinking.

"Do we know what will happen if we get it wrong though?" Harry asked them.

"No, but I guess there is only one way to find out. Let's try _stupefy_ first, it's red but starts with _s,"_ Hermione told them and she was the first to raise her wand and aim it at the red side of the dice. " _Stupefy!_ " Hermione shouted the spell and the blast of the red stunner flew into the dice where it was absorbed. For a few moments nothing happened, but after a few seconds the dice began to spin at insane speeds in the center of the room.

"DUCK!" he screamed as a wave of red stunning magic came flowing outwards towards them, filling the room with red light. The three of them managed to dodge the spell just before it flew right where they had been standing a second earlier.

"Okay, so let's not do that again please," Hermione said as she fixed her robes and stood up.

"Good idea," he huffed out, wiping the dirt off his robes.

"So back to plan _A_ , we need a red spell that starts with _r_. If that doesn't work it's back to the beginning," Harry added and again they all went back to trying to think of a spell.

"I'm an idiot! _Rennervate_ is red in color!" Hermione announced to them, she looked upset that it had taken her so long to think of the spell.

"Okay, you get to try it out since you came up with it," he told Hermione and backed away from the dice and behind Hermione, prepared to dodge another blast of magic. Hermione waited for the red side of the dice to make its way around to her before she raised her wand.

" _Rennervate!"_ she cast the spell and a jet of red light shot from her wand and collided with the dice. This time the dice continued to slowly rotate as it had been before, the only difference was that the red face of the die was glowing a little brighter.

"Well did it do anything?" Harry asked, looking around the room. All of them stood still ready to dive at any second to dodge a spell.

"Look at the door! There are only five strands of magic now. The red one is gone now too!" Hermione proclaimed and sure enough as he looked over at the door he could see she was in fact right.

"Looks like we figured it out then," he replied with an accomplished grin.

"One down and five to go," Hermione added with a satisfied smile.

"We should split the rest up so we are not wasting time. Marik you are in charge of _w_ , and _o_. Hermione you take _y_. And I will take _b_ , and _g_ ," Harry ordered them and they all nodded their heads and immediately started to think of some spells.

The _w_ spell was an easy one to think of for him, and for once their Durmstrang charm's lessons had actually come in handy. The _witeluxigo_ spell was a white-flame spell that they had gone over in class a few weeks back during their flame spell lessons, and would emit a bright white flame when cast. So that left him with just needing an _o_ spell. After a minute or two of thinking though the _oppungo,_ attack-conjuration spell came to mind.

One by one, after they each thought of spells, they lined up to cast them at the dice. Hermione started off casting the yellow, _yellernovo_ yelling spell on the yellow side of the dice. Harry followed by casting the blue, _bendculum_ bending spell on the blue side of the dice, and the green, _glisseo_ spell on the green side of the dice. Marik was the last to go and started with the white fire spell on the white side of the dice and finished with the orange _oppungo_ spell on the last un-glowing side of the dice.

As soon as his spell collided the entire room began to shake as the last strand of magic left the door. With a loud thud the dice fell to the floor sending a wave of dust throughout the room. As the dust cleared a loud scratching sound echoed throughout the dungeon room as the large door on the wall slowly opened, allowing them entry into the next room.

"One down," Harry started to say.

"Who knows how many more to go," he added with a grin as the three of them made their way into the next room.

* * *

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	54. Book4: Chapter 12-1

**Marik**

The second room was fairly identical to the room they had just previously been in. The size and shape of the room were exactly the same and similar grey bricks lined the walls on each side of them. Just as the room before, only one of the walls on the far side of this room had a door at its center. The only real difference between the two rooms was the lack of a large floating dice at this room's center.

Instead of a dice, this room had a large black stone monolith standing tall. The monolith had four large, rectangular sides from the looks of it and extended at its peak to reach the ceiling above them. Unlike the floating and moving dice in the previous room, the monolith in this room stood fixed and unmoving as the lone feature of the room.

"I don't think I had enough coffee for this today," he groaned as the three of them took in all of the sights of the room.

"Me either," Harry added.

"Okay, same as last room, let's all look around first and see what we can find," Hermione told them and at once they all split up to check around the room. Outside of the towering monolith there really was not much else to look at, unless you were in the mood for counting bricks. On the floor there were only a few scattered stones scattered across the ground here and there along with a few sticks but other than that pretty much all. After he felt like he had examined enough of the room Marik went over to help Hermione examine the monolith closer.

"See anything that stands out yet?" he asked her as he made his way next to where she was crouched over.

"Kind of. There are four, circular holes at the bottom of each side of the pillar, and each one of the holes has a series of carved lines that run out of it, look here," Hermione explained as she pointed at the bottom of the pillar. Sure enough at the very bottom of the center of the pillar on each of the four sides was a small circular hole about the width of a baseball. The circles each had two lines that were running out of the circle. One of the lines ran a few feet straight up the monolith before it ran into an _X_ -shaped marking, and the other line ran out of the bottom of the circle until almost the floor, where it stopped only a few inches above the ground at the edge of the monolith.

"Hey guys I found something," Harry announced from the other side of the room. He and Hermione turned to see what it was Harry had found.

"What is it?" he asked, squinting his eyes in an attempt to see what Harry was holding up.

"These rocks over here. I thought hey were just rubble on the ground but each of them have another letter carved into them. I don't think that is another coincidence."

"How many rocks did you find that have letters on them Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Just four. I looked over all the others but can't find anymore than that," Harry answered.

"One for each hole?" Marik said, turning to meet Hermione's eyes.

"That's what I was thinking too," Hermione replied, the cogs in her head turning.

"Harry tell us the letters, Hermione write them down below the letters for the last room," Marik called out. Hermione took out the transfigured parchment and quill again.

"Okay, I'm ready," Hermione called out to Harry.

"Okay, they are _p, w, m, e._ Got em?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Yeah, _p, w, m, e._ That doesn't spell out anything either. Unless the clue is _mewp_ ," Hermione said as she looked over her parchment.

"Do any of the holes in the monolith look different than one another?" Harry asked the two of them.

"No they all look the exact same, and each side of the monolith has the same design with its lines too."

"We have to be missing something then. . . Does the door have any magic on it again?" he asked, peering his head around the monolith to look at the door.

"No, I already checked that. And nothing in here matches the clue Dumbledore gave us that I can think of," Harry replied.

"The only thing I could think of from the story would be maybe the _even a wizard solving what looked like puzzles_ part _,_ " Hermione added.

"Hmm. . ." was all he said as he stood up to look around the room some more. They all seemed fairly stumped on this puzzle.

 _Four stones with letters, four holes. . ._ He thought to himself. He made his way over to door to check it again and make sure they had not overlooked anything.

Harry was right though, he couldn't sense any magic on the door. He tried to pull on the handle, hopeful that it would just open, but no such luck. His head was starting to hurt again from all of this thinking. He backed away from the door and started to turn back towards the monolith when his eye caught something near the ceiling above the door.

Just barely visible above the door was a small patch of carvings, that appeared to be carved in a slightly darker shade of grey than the wall, making it almost impossible to see unless you were looking at it directly. He squinted his eyes and tried to make out what the carvings on the wall were.

The marking's looked familiar, but it was hard to tell what they meant.

 _Where had he seen markings like this before_. . .

"RUNES!" he shouted in excitement as it finally came to him.

 _Damn you coffee for not helping me out more._ He thought to himself, disappointed that it had taken him that long of staring at the markings to recognize what they were.

"What?" Harry asked him, sounding confused from the other side of the dungeon. Marik was too caught up in his thoughts though to answer him. Instead he ran over to the dungeon wall to his left and started looking around on its surface trying to confirm his hypothesis before he explained.

"I'm a genius!" he shouted out as he found another set of markings at the center of the next wall as well, in the exact same spot as the first set of marking he had. It appeared each of the four walls surrounding the monolith had markings carved into them at the same spot at the rooms center near the ceiling.

"Debatable. What did you find?" Hermione asked as she and Harry made their way over to where he was looking.

"Okay, tell me if I am wrong on anything. We found four stones with letters on them right?"

"Right," they both replied in unison.

"And if I am correct there was also two sticks near the stones right?"

"Yeah?" Harry replied, looking confused still.

"I am a genius!" he shouted again with a grin.

"Oh just freaking tell us already!" Hermione screamed at him, annoyed.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. We have to carve runes! The four stones Harry found are rough-rune stones I bet, and the sticks we can transfigure into rune staves. One rune for each of the holes on the monolith. On the wall opposite of each side of the monolith there is already a rune carved into the wall. Look," he explained to them and pointed with his wand at the markings on the wall above them.

"Okay, it makes sense. But what do the letters on the stones mean, and what do the runes on the wall have to do with things?" Harry asked him.

"I haven't gotten that far yet. . ." he mumbled out.

"Genius my ass. . ." Hermione whispered. He glared at her as she did.

"Well what are the runes on the wall? Let's start with figuring out what those are and maybe that will clear things up," Harry said to them, trying to keep things positive.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Hermione give me the extra parchment you transfigured and the quill," he said, turning to Hermione.

"Here," Hermione replied as she handed him the materials he asked for. Marik levitated a piece of parchment up onto the spot of the wall where the first carving was and ordered the quill to began tracing it. He repeated this on the markings on the other three walls until they had all four carvings traced and could examine their markings more closely on the parchment.

"Hermione you take those two, I will take these," he told her as he handed Hermione two pieces of the parchment to look at as he began to look over the two pieces of parchment in his hands. Thankfully the carvings were simple enough, both were runes that you learned in your second year of runes class, and only took him a few minutes of examination to decipher.

"You able to tell what they are?" he asked Hermione as he finished reading his.

"Yeah, this one is a physical strength boosting one and this one is an energy draining rune. What were yours?" Hermione asked him as she laid the two pieces of parchment on the ground.

"This one was an magic boost rune and this one was a magic nullifying rune," he explained and set the two pieces of parchment down next to Hermione's.

"So what does that tell us?" Harry asked them. Harry had never taken runes before so this room was certainly not playing to his strengths.

"No clue," Hermione was the first to answer.

 _Strength boost, energy draining, magic boost, and magic nullifying. . ._ He thought to himself.

"They are anti-pairs!" He shouted out in excitement.

"Huh?" Harry replied, looking confused.

"Strength boosting runes are an anti-pair rune to energy draining runes, and magic boosting runes are an anti-pair rune to magic nullifying runes, meaning you can't use the runes together at the same time or combine them in a combination rune. They would just negate each other if you did. For example, if you use a physical strength boosting rune like this one first you would feel much stronger. If you then used an energy drain rune it would cancel out the the first rune and you would just feel normal," he explained, hoping it made sense to them.

"Yeah, you are right; but what do we do with that information?" Hermione asked him as she too thought over the possibility.

"The anti-pairs are opposite each other on the wall, so maybe that means something?" he answered, not sounding too sure himself.

"What about the letters on the stones?" Harry asked.

"And the lines on the monolith," Hermione added.

"Maybe the lines are a path. There are two lines coming out from each rune socket on the monolith, so maybe we have to somehow form a path with the runes on the wall to the runes on the monolith or something."

"Which path do the lines take?" Harry asked them.

"One goes straight up and meets and _X_ , the other goes straight down," Hermione answered.

"What if it isn't up and down, but forwards and backwards?" he asked Hermione, hoping she followed his trail of thinking.

"So we have to connect the rune already carved into the wall, to a rune we place in the empty rune socket on the monolith facing it," Hermione thought out loud.

"And maybe the _X_ that the line meets means stop, or no. So maybe then the line running into the _X_ means that the rune we place needs to not connect with the rune on the opposite side of the monolith too, meaning the rune on the opposite side of the monolith needs to be an anti-pair to the one we place on the on the monolith. Make sense?".

"Not at all," Harry answered bluntly.

"Yeah, it does. But how do we path that out?" Hermione asked again. She seemed to be following his train of thought.

"Well the runes we place on the monolith are being placed into a single object," he started to explain, thinking it all over more in his head.

"So we have to carve four runes that can have their effects stacked then without any of them being an anti-pair to another one of the runes we place in the monolith," Hermione continued to think out loud.

"Maybe, yeah," he replied not sure how exactly that was possible.

"And we can assume the runes you both carve need to start with the letters on the stones," Harry added.

"Why do you figure that?" he asked.

"Well the letters obviously mean something. The spells we cast in the first room all started with letters on their appropriate sides of the dice. So I think it is safe to assume it will be the same here." Harry answered.

"I think Harry is right. We should try to solve it doing it that way first, if that doesn't work we will start over," Hermione replied.

"Okay, let's take it a rune at a time then. Harry since you don't know runes can you transfigure those sticks into rune staves while we get started?" he asked Harry as his mind immediately started to think.

"On it," Harry replied and headed to get the sticks.

"Okay, so let's start by doing a rune at a time, and let's begin with the physical strength boosting rune on this wall." She made his way over to the first wall. "What is a rune that can be a combination rune to a physical strength boost rune and and starts with _p, w, m,_ or _e_?" Hermione asked him.

"Hmm. . . a power boosting rune would work, they are in the same rune family and it starts with _p,_ " He answered.

"Okay, so we have three letters and runes left now. Should we go the rune on the opposite side of the monolith or what next?" Hermione asked him as she crossed off the _p_ on her parchment and wrote down power boost rune under it.

"Let's try opposite first," he answered, still not entirely sure what they were doing was right.

"Okay, well that means we need a combination rune to an energy rune that starts with _w, m,_ or _e,_ and is an anti-pair rune to a power boost rune," Hermione said, reading off from her list.

"Wait a second. What do we know about enchanting monoliths?" he asked, another possible idea coming to mind.

"Uhh I only remember reading a little bit about them under one of the enchanting sections in one my books but not much," Harry answered, bringing he and Hermione the newly transfigured rune staves.

"What is a monoliths magical purpose though? I know they have a specific purpose but I can't recall" he asked again.

"They just hold magical energy, They are used to store magic or as sources to draw magic from," Harry replied.

"So what if we need to fulfill its purpose too then."

"You mean fill it with magic using the runes we carve?" Hermione asked him curiously.

"Exactly yeah," He replied quickly.

"Is that possible to do with all of the variables we already have? I mean we already have to use runes that are combination runes to their partner rune on the wall, start with the right letter, are anti-pairs to the rune opposite them on the monolith, and now also power the monolith. How can you even power the monolith if the runes we place into it all have an anti-pair that will negate them?" Hermione asked him, looking annoyed and confused at the puzzle before them.

"It is possible. . . The order is important though," he answered, more solutions coming to mind the more he thought.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Just follow me as I work through this, If I keep talking I am going to overthink this and lose my train of thought. Hermione start carving that power boosting rune for me," He said as he set out thinking of the second rune to carve.

For the second rune that they would place on the opposite side of the monolith from the power boosting rune, they would need a rune that was a combination rune to an energy draining rune, an anti-pair to a power boost rune, and started with _w, m,_ or _e._ A weakening rune would fit the criteria. The rune acted the same as an energy draining rune, only weakening the person's magical energy. And a weaken magic rune was certainly an anti-pair with a power boosting rune.

"Okay, Harry, cross of the _w_ and write weaken magic rune on it," he told Harry who quickly picked up the parchment and did as he was told. Marik continued to think over the puzzle in his head, trying desperately not to lose his train of thought. Next, he needed a rune that started with _m_ or _e,_ and could be a combination rune with a magic boosting rune. He tried to think of something for a few minutes as Hermione finished the first rune and began to carve the second rune but nothing came. Taking a break from that rune he tried to come up with the last rune first.

For the last rune it would need also need to start with either _m_ or _e_ and be a combination rune to a magic nullifying rune. That one was fairly simple, an erase magic rune would do the trick and fill the criteria. Now he just needed the last rune.

"Okay, Hermione I need your help. Harry before I forget cross out the _e_ and write erase magic rune. Hermione we need a rune that starts with _m_ and is a combination rune to a magic boost rune and an anti-pair to an erase magic rune. I can't think of anything."

"Are you sure that we used the right letters for the others?" Harry interrupted.

"Yeah, I am, well, kind of. Follow my train of thought here. If my theory is correct then we have to power the monolith too right? So with that in mind, I chose the weakening rune first to weaken the monolith and fit the needed rune combination with the energy drain rune.

"From there we will insert the erase magic rune, which is a combination rune to the magic nullifying rune. The erase magic rune will erase all of the weakening effects the first rune did to the monolith, basically putting it back to square one as an empty monolith.  
"This is where I am stumped though. I need a rune that can get some magic into the rune, because I was planning on using the power boost rune last to power up the monolith. Only problem is we need there to be some magic already in the monolith in the first place before we can power it." He explained his train of thought. Harry looked at him lost, Hermione however was already looking deep in thought.

"How about a magic insertion rune?" Hermione asked him.

"I've never heard of that one, what does it do?" he asked, amazed that Hermione knew of a rune that he didn't.

"Yes you have. It's what healer's use at St. Mungos for patients that are suffering from magic deficiency. They used the runes on you when you were there back in second year. The carver places some magic energy into the rune and then places the rune onto something or someone. The magic is transferred into whatever it is placed onto and through the rune's magic begins creating more magic. Your rune-tattoo magic uses the same principal too. In a living being it helps to recreate and regenerate magic, however in an object it will transfer a little bit of magic. But if you boost it that should still work."

"Can it be a combination to a magic boosting rune?" he asked.

"Yeah, it can. Again, it's exactly what St. Mungos does. When a patient is suffering from magical deficiency they give them magic creation runes to transfer small amounts of magic into the patient then follow it up with magic boosting potions or runes to help regenerate the lost magic."

"Hermione you are a genius!" he proclaimed as he thought over what she had explained in his head. The rune would fit perfectly in his strategy.

"I know." Hermione replied with a confident smile. "Now you carve the third rune and I will carve the magic creation rune," Hermione said and tossed him the remaining rune stave and blank rune. Slowly they carved the runes, neither of them wanting to risk rushing things and messing up on a line. After an intense ten minutes of slow carving they at last finished the final touches on all of the runes.

"Okay, so give me all of the runes," he said, and took the runes from his two friends. "So first we will place the weakening rune to weaken the monolith," he announced as he placed the rune into the socket at the bottom of the monolith. A white line formed on the floor, starting from the rune and running all the way up to the rune across from it on the wall. Nothing else happened thankfully.

"Okay, next I will place the erase magic rune to erase any current magic inside the monolith," he announced again and placed the second rune into its socket. Another white light formed on the floor, sprouting between the newly placed rune on the monolith and the one on the wall just as the first rune had done.

"Next, I will place the magic creation rune that our all-mighty-minotaur-slayer thought of to add some magic into the monolith," he said again, and again placed the third rune into the monolith. Another white line formed on the ground as he did so.

"And lastly, I will place the power boost rune to boost the magic in the monolith and finish this damn puzzle!" he shouted as he placed the final rune into place. Another white light formed on the ground and the monolith began glowing a bright hue of white light that filled the dim dungeon room. With a powerful burst of bright magical energy all of the light inside the dungeon vanished and a loud screeching sound as the door to the next room opened.

"It worked!" he shouted, somewhat in disbelief that it actually had.

"I am impressed Marik," Hermione admitted, giving him a pat on the back.

"Why thank you Miss Granger," he replied, giving her a sarcastic bow.

"None of that made any sense to, but I am glad you guys understood it," Harry said as the three of them quickly bolted for the door and made their way into the next room.

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	55. Book4: Chapter 12-2

**Marik**

"Bloody hell this is chaos!" Harry shouted as they entered the third room of the second task. Marik completely agreed with Harry. This room, while somewhat still resembling a dungeon classroom looked nothing like the other two rooms they had been in so far. There was still one wall that had a door at its center, but the other walls were not barren and plain like the other two rooms' walls had been.

The room was filled with an assortment of overgrown plants of all varieties and colors. The large number of plants had grown wildly throughout the room and were covering all of the walls and had even grown to cover the majority of the door on the far side of the room. Outside of the large number of wild and crazy looking plants were even more wild and crazy looking creatures ofa variety of different shapes and sizes running around the room. Just when Marik had started to think during the last clue that there was no way his head could hurt any more of course he was proven wrong.

"What the hell is this? I don't even know where to start!" he groaned, rubbing his temples in pain.

" _A room with nothing but flowers inside,_ " Harry mumbled out the part of the children's story.

"Well there are certainly flowers in here, but nothing in the clue or story mentions all of these creatures or the giant statue," Hermione added as they all three continued to stare around in awe at the chaos in the room. Marik had been so concerned with the plants and creatures that he had never even noticed the large statue that Hermione mentioned at the room's center.

The statue appeared to be of a witch, although if it was a famous one or an actual real life person he was unsure. The statue stood tall and at its peak almost reached the height of the room. The witch's hair was flowing behind it, as if it was being blown in the wind, and one of the witch's hand was held out as if it was casting a spell or something of the sort.

"So where should we start?" he asked the two of them, hoping they had some sort of an idea.

"Marik you look at the plants and try and decipher what some of them are. Start with the ones on the door. Hermione you look around and try and find some things with letters on them, if the past two rooms have taught us anything it is that there will be letters somewhere in this room and they will be important. I will start trying to identify some of these creatures," Harry ordered and at once they all set out trying to make some sense of the chaos.

Marik made his way over to the door, trying to carefully avoid each of the plants and creatures in his path along the way, not sure if any of them were dangerous or not. When he arrived at the vine-covered door he could make out that there seemed to be three distinct vines covering the door. All of the vines had a plethora flowers sprouting along their path but were so intertwined among one other it was hard to tell one from the other.

From the appearance of the flowers, none of the plants looked to be anything commonly found or even anything that he had seen before. One was a dark black flower with thorns poking out all sides of it. Another flower was a deep shade of purple and at the its center appeared to have what looked teeth. The next flower had four long yellow petals that had a combination of the other two flowers properties, some thorns on its edges like the first and a few jagged teeth-like things at its center just like the second.

 _Neville and Sprout would be in heaven here._ Was the first thing that came to mind at the sight before him.

After a few more minutes of examining the flowers he made his way back to his friends to see if they had discovered anything important, or had better luck than him.

"Able to tell what the plants and vines were?" Harry asked him as he arrived.

"No clue man. I've never seen any of them before. Hermione you should go check them out too," he replied.

"Before you do that Hermione tell us what you saw around the room and on the statue, anything stand out?" Harry turned to ask Hermione.

"Around the room not so much, on the statue yeah. I found four more letters on the statue's base. _A, j, s,_ and _e._ They were written at the base of the statute and in that order," Hermione replied.

"Okay, so we can assume based off the other two puzzles that whatever we do will start with those letters, so keep that in mind. From looking at the creatures I was able to determine that there are three different types here. They are jobberknolls, fwoopers, and bowtruckles. The jobberknolls are the blue speckled smaller birds, the fwoopers are the greenish two-legged larger birds that are walking around, and the bowtruckles are the small stick looking bug-things that are climbing all over the walls," Harry explained as he pointed around the room to show them the creatures.

"Well the names of the creatures, besides the jobberknolls, don't match the letters on the statue. So it either has to be the flowers or something else," he replied thinking over what they knew so far.

"I don't recognize these flowers either," Hermione shouted from the door. "They look like hybrids of different flowers or something," Hermione added as she made her way back over.

"Is there anything you guys can think of from the other rooms that might help us here?" Harry asked, scratching his chin.

"I can't. I'm stumped," he admitted, these tasks were taking their toll mentally on him.

"Well in both the other rooms the goal was to open the door. In the first room there was the magic blocking us from opening the door and in the second room there was the lack of magic keeping us from opening the door until we powered the monolith. So I guess it would be obvious to think that we need to unblock the door in this room, meaning get rid of the plants on the door," Hermione said.

"What do the creatures have to do with the plants though? Harry do these thing eat the plants or something?" he asked, hopeful.

"They are all herbivores yeah, but I don't think it would be that simple. They aren't eating the plants right now either, they actually seem to be ignoring them," Harry replied, looking around at the creatures on the floor again.

"Well I got nothing then. The clue and the story doesn't really say much about anything in here," Marik added, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"The statue has to be a part of this too puzzle too. There is no way it being here is just a coincidence. So far we have used whatever the letters have been written on in every puzzle so far, so we are going to have to use the statue for something in this," Hermione said to the both of them.

"Yeah, I agree. So maybe we need to find a way to use the statue and the animals to get rid of the plants on the door," Harry replied, thinking out loud.

"What do we know gets rid of plants though? I mean I'm assuming we can't just cut through them," Hermione asked.

" _Confringo!"_ he shouted the powerful flame spell at the door. Nothing happened though and it seemed as if his spell was just absorbed. "Seems not."

"Can you guys think of anything we learned in herbology that would kill plants like these?" Harry asked them both.

"Well the only thing I can think of that seems even close to this is devil's snare and star grass," Hermione replied.

"How do you get rid of those?" Harry asked her.

"Well devil's snare hates light and star grass burns when a sunstone is placed near it," Hermione answered Harry, who was now scratching his chin as he thought things over.

"Nightshade is the same now that I think about it. If you put a ruby next to a patch of it the plant dies," Marik added.

"So we need to find something similar to all of that then. I would assume that the items needed to get rid of the plants start with the letters we were given," Harry replied.

"So we need to think of things that start with the letters that can kill these plants. . ." Harry began, trailing off as he started to think of something. The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes, the only thing making sound in the room was the creatures as they pranced around.

"This is hopeless," he said, admitting defeat.

"I agree, there are too many possibilities just shooting in the dark like this." Harry added.

"There has to be something else in the room that will help us narrow things down," Hermione said, looking around the room for something to help. "Let's focus more on the statue," Hermione announced and made her way over to the statue at the room's center. He and Harry followed her over there.

"Okay, so do either of you see anything on the statue besides the letters that stands out?" Hermione asked them.

"Hmm. . . Well it's facing the door," Harry said, thinking out loud.

"And it has its hand out like it is casting a spell or something," Marik added, continuing the thought.

"Anything else?" Hermione asked, walking around the statue. "Wait, look at this," Hermione said pointing at the statue's outstretched hand.

"What?" Harry asked.

"There is a hole in the hand, like someone plucked out whatever she was holding," Hermione replied, examining the statue's hand more closely.

"Well, like I said it does look like she is casting a spell, so maybe she used to be holding a wand or a staff or something."

"Maybe not a wand, but a staff would make sense. _S_ is one of our letters too. Maybe she was keeping the plants off of the door, and we have to give her back the ability to do that," Hermione added, sounding like she was still deep in thought.

"I'm not following," Marik replied, feeling lost.

"Me either," Harry added, looking much the same.

"Remember in our first year Neville made that staff that helped with the growth of plants for his end of year project. Well herbalist staffs are a common tool used by herbalists in their gardens. The staffs allow for a lot more enchantments to be placed into them than wands do, so herbalists use them to help keep their gardens in the best shape. They also often enchant and equip their staffs to repel parasites, disease, and bad plants," Hermione started to explain.

"So maybe we have to build her staff back, and enchant it with the right things to kill the plants?" Harry asked, trying to finish Hermione's trail of thought.

"That's what I was thinking yeah," Hermione replied, looking at them to see what they thought of her explanation.

"Well I agree it makes sense, but we still don't know what enchantments to do," Marik said, not trying be a negative nancy on purpose.

"Let's start with making a staff and go from there. Harry can you get on that?" Hermione asked, but Harry was deep in thought.

"Wait a second. . . Bowtruckles are commonly used in staff making. I remember a lesson with Hagrid last year where he mentioned that, and that's what Neville used as the base for his staff too," Harry started to say.

"So it isn't a coincidence that they are randomly in the room then," Hermione finished his thought.

"No, and I guarantee the other two creatures aren't in here by coincidence either. I guarantee that both of them are used in making a herbalist's staff somehow, and that whatever they are used for will fit two more of our letters," Harry continued.

"What else is commonly used in herbalist's staffs?" Marik asked.

"I can't really remember anything to be honest," Hermione replied, looking disappointed that she didn't know or remember something they had learned in class.

"Me either. What did Neville use in his staff? We have seen him present his end of year project on it for years now. Maybe that will help spark our memories," Harry asked them.

"If I remember I think he infused rubies, amethyst, jade or something like that, and an enchanted onyx core, as well as all sort of enchantments," Marik answered. He wasn't surprised he remembered that at all. He had worked his ass off last year in herbology to improve his grade and had taken close notes on Neville and his work in an attempt to help improve his work, not that he would ever admit that to Neville.

"That's it!" Hermione shouted. "Stones are commonly used items to store magical energy in herbalist's staffs! I bet we have to transfigure or use the creatures in the room to create the proper stones."

"Well the bowtruckles I know for a fact are commonly transfigured into staffs. So if we are going off of letters that gives us our _s,_ " Harry replied.

"Can either of the creatures be used to create an amethyst or jade? That would give us our _j_ and _a._ We would still need an _e_ though," he asked the two of them, thinking of items Neville used that matched the letters they had been given.

"I'm not sure, but I could try. You both try to figure out what the _e_ could be while I try to transfigure these things," Harry said, turning from them to a group of creatures in the other side of the room.

"So we are clearly missing something here," he said to Hermione as Harry left.

"Why do you say that?"

"There are three vines covering the door and three types of creatures around the room, but four letters. Even if Harry can transfigure a staff, amethyst, and jade from the creatures that is still leaving a letter. And even if the jade and amethyst work there will still be one vine left covering the door."

"Yeah. . . what else do we know about Neville's staff?" Hermione asked.

"I mean everything I said before is all I really know. He used a bunch of different gemstones and a bunch of different enchantments. That's all I got," he said, his tone admitting defeat. This room was a little too much for him.

"Enchantments, that's it!" Hermione said, her face looking like it had come across their answer.

"Huh?"

"Enchantments starts with _e._ Plants are receptive to magic of all kinds. So maybe two of the plants will react to the jade and amethyst in the staff and maybe the remaining plant is reactive to enchantment magic," Hermione explained.

"Is that a real possibility? I've never heard of a plant not liking enchantment magic before," Harry chimed in. He was now carrying a four foot staff in his hands along with two gems as he made his way over.

"Might as well try it. I have no idea to be honest, but it's the best I got right now," Hermione admitted.

"Okay, so I'm going to fuse the amethyst and jade into the staff then place it back into the statue. If that works I'll just add a simple enchantment to it and we will see what happens. Marik hold the staff for me," Harry said, handing Marik the staff he had just transfigured. Harry placed both of the gems onto the top of the staff and began sending magic out from his wand into them. Slowly Harry's magic weaved and welded the two gemstones into place atop the staff.

Harry took the staff back from Marik and cast a simple enchantment onto it. From there Harry levitated the staff into the clutch of the open hand of the statue and they all waited with baited breath.

"Holy shit!" He shouted out as the staff suddenly became animated. Like something out of a movie the statue twirled the staff in its hand and sent a beam of rainbow colored lights towards the door. A loud screech filled the room as the creatures of the room began to run around in a panic and the plants covering the walls burst into flames. When the flames died down and the light from the staff vanished the silence in the room returned. Thankfully, the door to the next room was now open too.

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	56. Book4: Chapter 12-3

**Marik**

The fourth room of the dungeon was thankfully much less hectic room than the last room had been. Three normal grey brick dungeon walls surrounded them on all sides as they entered. Inside this room there were only two things that stood out immediately. A large wooden desk sat in one of the room's corners. Atop of the desk were a large number of flasks, vials, cauldrons, and what looked like potions ingredients.

At the far edge of the room, on the fourth wall, was what looked like a large black curtain of magic inside a gateway, placed where the doors in the other rooms had been. The curtain was made out of a veil of flowing back magical energy that gave off an unwelcoming aura and sent cold shivers up his spine. The gateway was made out of a black obsidian-like stone.

"Now this room I like," Hermione said as she practically skipped over to the desk in the nearby corner and picked up a potions flask.

"Okay, so same deal as in the other rooms. Let's split up and look for anything that stands out and try to find some letters," Harry called out as he started to look around the room. Marik made a straight line for the black gateway.

The unwelcoming aura of the gateway only grew stronger the closer Marik got to it. He could hear what sounded like muffled whispers calling out to him from behind the curtain of magic with each step towards it. Their whispers sent shivers down his spine and raised the hair on his neck. There was a lot of magic here, and none of the magic felt like something he wanted to mess with. At the center of the top of gateway, surrounding the curtain, the obsidian formed into an archway. At the peak of the archway Marik could clearly make out three letters carved into the stone, _l, r, l._

"I found our letters for this room," he shouted out as he walked away from the gateway, "and I don't think we should fuck around with this room. I get a bad vibe from that gateway and all the whispering coming from it gives me the shakes."

"What are the letters?" Harry asked as he walked over to the gateway.

"And what whispers?" Hermione asked as she joined Harry by the gateway.

"You can't hear the soft murmurs coming from the magic?" he asked, finding it difficult that Harry wasn't hearing what he was.

"I don't hear anything," Hermione replied, leaning his ear closer to the gateway.

"I hear them, I can't hear what they are saying though," Harry added.

"You both are crazy. I don't hear anything," Hermione said.

"Huh. . . maybe we both are going crazy from all the thinking. Anyways, the letters are _l, r,_ and _l._ "

" _L, r,_ and _l_ this time, huh. Hermione any ideas coming to mind?" Harry asked.

"I think it's obvious we have to brew a potion or something. In the story the Sorting Hat sees _wizards brewing potions._ Makes sense with what is provided in this room," Hermione answered.

"What ingredients are you seeing there?" Marik asked. If the room did have to do with brewing potions this would be Hermione's room to take charge in for sure.

"I'm seeing wormwood, sopophorus bean juice, mercury, roots of asphodel, octopus powder, leaves of the lily, onion juice, and lionfish scales," Hermione answered.

"So maybe we have to brew three potions that start with each letter with all of these ingredients," Harry suggested.

"Hmm. . . Can either of you think of any potions that make use of lionfish scales in their recipes? I can't," Hermione asked them. Marik wracked his brain for a few moments, trying to see what came to mind but nothing did.

"I got nothing," he admitted.

"Me either. _Pepperup potions_ use scales of a thin fish but that's the only thing I can think of that even comes close," Harry replied.

"I get the hunch that they are here either to throw us off the trail with solving this puzzle, or they are to be used for something else entirely," Hermione said, thinking out loud.

"What else are lionfish scales used for?" he asked. He had never heard of them before.

"If I recall correctly they have magical properties sort of like a bezoar. If I'm remembering what Professor Snape told me they are used to treat patients who drink or are touched by the _liquid death potion,_ " Hermione answered.

"What about the gateway? Do you recognize anything with the gateway that could apply to a potion or recipe?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I've never heard of any gateway or potion to enter gateways before," Hermione responded.

" _Scores of doors line my halls, Each with something special within their walls, The mystery should be one of your fears, What's left unsolved could end your years, When you find the missing piece, You should worry about yourself the least, Because when you look into the mirror who do you see, But of course it is I, your greatest enemy,_ " he quoted the clue, hoping that they may hear something in its words.

"Hmm. . . maybe. . ." Hermione mumbled to herself.

"Come on, spill it!" he ordered as he watched the wheels spin in her head.

"It's a stretch, and a long one at that," Hermione replied.

"Better than nothing," Harry said.

"Well if we go off the "mystery should be one of your fears, what's left unsolved could end your years" part of the clue I have a possible idea. Both of the lines deal with death. The mystery of death, how, and when it will happen is almost one of everyone's greatest fears. And "end your years" is obviously a metaphor for death.

"The black veiled gateway instead of a door is another metaphor for death. Door's are associated with positives, like when a professor says "studying will open doors for you". Passing through a veil or a gateway is a way people describe someone passing away, like with the gateesy to hell and the veil of death," Hermione explained.

"So where are you going with all of this?" Harry asked the same question Marik was wondering. All this death talk combined with the aura of the room was dampening his spirits and making it hard to think.

"I'm getting there. Looking at these ingredients there is everything you need here to brew the _liquid death potion_. That is the only potion we have ever learned about that uses leaves of the lily in it. I think that there is just too many metaphors and symbols of death here for it to be a coincidence. I think the puzzle has something to do with death, and if we go by the riddle I'm assuming it has to do something with solving death," Hermione continued to explain.

"Solving death? What does that even mean?" he asked her.

"That I don't really know yet. But I'm confident it has something to do with the third and fourth lines of the clue," Hermione answered.

"Well _liquid death_ starts with an _l,_ so that part makes sense too," Harry added.

"What else could you brew with those ingredients that has to do with death?" Marik asked her.

"I don't know. . ." Hermione replied.

For what must have been longer than an hour the three of them just stood around the table staring at the ingredients before them thinking things over. Occasionally Harry would take a lap around the room to look for more clues or go over to the gateway to examine it further. None of it seemed to shed any light on solving this puzzle though. At the moment they were beat.

Hermione had a long list of potions written down on a piece of parchment and would angrily cross them out as she thought over their ingredients or effects. Marik was struggling to think of much at all. He was a good potions brewer, but nothing he thought of was something new that Hermione had not already written down and crossed off her list. This was not his room.

"I am an idiot!" Hermione shouted, throwing her parchment and quill onto the ground. Before either he or Harry could react Hermione had ingredients in her hands and was already throwing stuff into two of the nearby cauldrons.

"Explain?" he asked, trying to make sense of what she was adding into the cauldrons.

"I was right earlier when I said there was too many metaphors and symbols of death in this room to be a coincidence. However, I was wrong when I was thinking about everything only associating with death."

"I'm still lost," Harry replied.

"There are also symbols of life in this room. The other rooms had doors, this one has a gateway. A gate is what many religious people believe you pass through on your way to heaven. There is also a random jar of lionfish scales here. Lionfish scales aren't used in brewing potions. They are used, like I said before, to counter _liquid death potions_ , thus giving life. We have to do exactly like I said before. We have to solve death." Marik was still clueless.

"Still not following," he admitted as Hermione began to stir one of the cauldrons counterclockwise.

"I'm sorry, my mind is rushing so fast I'm struggling to explain things. Basically, everything in this room is a symbol or metaphor for life and death. So with the letters we are given we have to create life and death. The first _l_ is drinking the _liquid death potion._ The _r_ is drinking a _restoration potion._ The second _l_ is eating a lionfish scale," Hermione said, adding more ingredients to the cauldrons.

"How did you arrive at those potions and in that order?" Harry asked, still not sounding convinced.

"And you want us to drink _liquid death?_ " he asked, feeling like Harry had missed that part of Hermione's explanation.

"Because it is the only path from death to life you can take with everything given in this room. We have to be able to pass through the veil, or death, _and_ the gateway, life, to enter the next room. _Liquid death_ will kill you if left untreated for a short time, _What's left unsolved could end your years._ Drinking a _restoration potion_ and eating a lionfish scale after consumption of _liquid death_ will cure the deadly effects," Hermione explained. Sounding much more confident in her answer this time around.

"Are you sure? I don't know how I feel about drinking _liquid death_ on a hunch," he replied honestly. Hermione's explanation was still going a little over his head, but parts of it made a little sense.

"I'm positive. These both will take me close to an hour to brew. So both of you keep thinking of other possibilities in the meantime. I'm sure I'm right though," Hermione said.

Over the next hour he and Harry bounced other possibilities off each other while Hermione brewed the two potions but nothing they came up with sounded better than Hermione's plan. Every room in the dungeon was about passing through the door and Hermione's explanation made sense on helping them get through the gateway veil.

The longer they sat there waiting the more ancy Marik got for them to get out of the room. Thankfully, after exactly an hour, Hermione finished brewing the two potions.

"Okay, so I want to test this out first. I don't want us all drinking _liquid death_ before we know it works," Harry said as Hermione poured the two potions out into vials.

"No Harry, I will go first. It was my idea and you don't get to be the hero every time. I promise I am right and everything will be okay." Before Harry could argue Hermione had already downed a flask of _liquid death_. Hermione's body immediately fell to the floor where it began convulsing.

"Marik grab the fucking lionfish scales!" Harry screamed out as he rushed to the table and grabbed a flask of _restoration potion_ and began trying to pour it down Hermione's throat. "Open up, Hermione, please open up," Harry pleaded, his voice hollow and cracking. Thankfully Harry was able to force some of the _restoration potion_ into Hermione's mouth and a lionfish scale quickly after that. After a few moments of eerie silence Hermione's body stopped convulsing and her eyes open. She looked fine, pale, but fine.

"If you ever do that again. . ." Was all Harry got out as he fell into Hermione's shoulders.

"I'm fine Harry," Marik heard Hermione whisper into his ear. They all just sat there in silence for a brief moment, no one wanting to say anything.

"Okay, we can't waste anymore time. I'm gonna try to walk through the gateway," Hermione said, pulling herself away from Harry and standing up. "If I make it through without problems both of you help the other drink their flasks. Come through quick and with your wand at the ready, we don't know what is in the next room so."

"Good luck," he told her, not sure what the right words to say were.

Hermione approached the gateway, and following a loud, audible gulp walked through it and disappeared.

"Well?" he asked after a few seconds of nothing happening.

"We don't have time to waste. I'd say it worked. Let's go," Harry ordered and sprinted over to the table. Marik helped Harry quickly down a flask of _liquid death._ Just as Hermione had done his body fell to the floor and Marik had to force the _restoration potion_ and lionfish down his throat.

As soon as Harry seemed to return to normal Marik downed a flask of the liquid death. Thankfully, his body didn't react like Harry's and Hermione's had and he did not fall to the floor convulsing. He was able to down his flask of _restoration potion_ and lionfish scales quickly. Once the last of the scales were swallowed he followed Harry as they bolted through the veil, and were swallowed into darkness.

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	57. Book4: Chapter 12-4

**Marik**

For a few moments the world seemed to be still, and dark. Eventually though a light emerged into view and grew rapidly. Before Marik could react in the least bit he was thrust into a new room. He jumped to his feet with his wand raised, ready for war as his eyes tried to adjust to the light of the room. Thankfully things seem to be safe though and both of his friends were up on their feet and safe.

"So fuck that last room," he offered as he dusted himself off and looked around the room.

The first notable difference between this room and the last was that there was no large black gateway in the room. In fact there was no door at all in this room. Instead there were three blank grey walls surrounding them and one wall with one large oval mirror mounted onto the wall.

"Think this is the last room? There are no doors" Harry asked as they all started walking around the room.

"Maybe. . ." Hermione whispered as she looked into the mirror.

Marik walked up to where she was standing and looked at the mirror. The mirror just looked like any other normal mirror that he had seen before. It wasn't elegantly designed or fashioned or anything and just had a simple oaken board behind it.

" _Because when you look into the mirror who do you see . . ."_ Hermione started to say a line of the clue as she examined the mirror more closely.

" _But of course, it is I, your greatest enemy. . ."_ Harry finished her sentence.

"Is the mirror the only thing in the room?" Hermione, turned to ask Harry as he walked around.

"Seems like it. I checked the walls and there is nothing on them. Do you see any letters on the mirror?" Harry answered.

"I don't see any letters," he replied as he searched the edges of the mirror.

"The mirror part of the clue obviously has to apply to this room. But I don't really get what it means in this context. . ." Hermione mumbled, obviously deep in thought.

"Hmm. . . looks like just a normal mirror to me. I don't even sense any magic inside it," Harry said as he made his way over to the mirror and looked into it over there shoulders. Just as Harry did so the reflection of Harry in the mirror moved on its own accord, sending a fist towards them. As it did so the mirror cracked, shattering large shards of glass onto the floor and the room was filled with a blinding light. Marik could feel magical energy forming behind them. He turned with his wand raised, ready to defend himself against anything, but found himself blinded for a few moments.

"Duck!" Marik heard Harry shout out. Acting on instincts, Marik dove to the floor and rolled to his feet.

 _Come on eyes adjust already!_ He internally screamed.

" _Stupefy!"_ a voice that sounded like Harry's shouted from somewhere in the light.

" _Reducto!"_ another voice shouted out, and the room was again filled with more light. Thankfully his eyes were starting to adjust and he was able to make out the room now and what was going on. Although, he was able to now see things, he wasn't exactly sure what it was that he was seeing.

Standing only a little over three feet away from him was, well, himself. Well kind of. He was literally looking at himself standing in the room. And behind the other Marik was another Hermione, and another Harry. The three new "people" standing at the center of the room looked just like himself, Harry, and Hermione, only a little fuzzy on the edges; almost like a slightly cleaner version of the thought projections that were produced in the _geminio_ spell. Other than that they looked just like perfect reflections of themselves.

" _Stupefy!"_ the Marik staring at him shouted out.

" _Protego!"_ he shouted back, a little taken aback that he was being attacked by, well, by himself. He was able to easily defend against the stunner, but was still confused. It was a little hard to comprehend all of this.

 _Do I really grin like that? And man I need a haircut. . ._ He found himself thinking as he looked over the reflection of himself standing a few feet away.

"Guys?" he started to ask, but never got an answer as all three of their copies began charging at them, each of their wands raised.

" _Expulso!"_ the copy of him shouted out.

" _Protego, incarcerous!"_ He countered the explosion spell by summoning a quick shield and followed it up with a powerful rope binding spell. Dozens of ropes shot out from his wand towards the copy of him.

" _Suincendius, aeriacta!"_ The copy of him countered with two spells of its own. Both spells were ones he knew well and had used in countless number of duels. The first spell caused his copy's body to burst into flame, burning each of the ropes to nothing but ashes as they caught aflame. The second spell was a powerful wind explosion spell that sent a powerful gust right at Marik.

Marik quickly allowed himself a glance around the room. It seemed both of his friends were in the same situations, but both seemed to be handling dueling their reflections on their own right now.

" _Subduco, gravitas!"_ he shouted out two more spells, both chosen to assist his friends. His first spell was a spell stealing spell that he used to steal his copy's _aeriacta_ spell. He aimed his wand towards the reflection of Harry and sent the stolen spell towards the back of the copy Harry. With his _gravitas_ spell he tried to help Hermione, aiming it on a nearby wall a few feet away from the reflection Hermione.

The reflections apparently all had the same instincts when it came to dueling as the real versions did it appeared from their stances and dueling styles. Harry's reflection dove instinctively to the right just as the wind blast spell closed in on it. Hermione's reflection was thrown into the wall due to the increase in sudden gravity from his _gravitas_ spell, but was quickly broken free by his reflection before anyone else could react.

"Guys we need to work together! _Stupefy!_ " Harry shouted from the other side of the room as he sent a powerful stunner towards his own reflection.

" _Protego, yamipulso!"_ He threw up a shield to block another explosion spell that his reflection had sent at him and sent a powerful blast of black magic right back at it. It was no use though as his reflection again through up a shield and easily blocked his spell.

 _Man that grin is annoying._ He thought to himself as the reflection grinned smugly at him.

"Let's try and focus on one at a time!" Hermione shouted in between spells of her own.

"Aim for Harry's in between defending against your reflection! _Confringo!_ " he shouted, and sent a distracting flame spell towards his own reflection.

" _Sorbeo, glacia sagittas maxima!"_ his reflection countered quickly.

 _It can even use my shadow magic. . ._ Marik thought as he watched his reflection use the shadow _sorbeo_ spell that he had invented and watched as his _confringo_ spell just pass right through and towards Hermione on the other side of the room.

"Watch out Hermione!" Marik shouted as he dove to his right and dodged the onslaught of ice arrows that had been sent at him and were now colliding into the wall. Thankfully Hermione was able to dodge his _confringo_ spell relativley unschathed..

"They can perform our magic too! _Protego!_ Mine just used my shadow magic! Watch out for time magic Hermione and Harry watch out for mind magic!" he barely managed to shout out as his reflection threw a powerful spell chain at him.

" _Protego_ , _rensa maho!"_ After throwing up another quick shield he threw out the chain magic spell, pretending like he was trying to aim at his own reflection but bending it at the last second towards Harry's.

" _Umbrocaesa! Stupefy!"_ With another grin his reflection easily countered his spell. With his shadow magic cutting spell it sliced his roaming chain in half, leaving it rendered useless as it fell to the floor with a clank. His reflection still wasn't giving him any time to think as it also sent another stunner right at him.

 _Time to bring out the big guns._

" _Subduco, acusio, yamipulso!_ " He countered his reflection with a powerful spell combo.

With his first spell he again stole his copy's stunner and aimed it at the back of Harry's reflection. With his second spell, one he had learned from the bitch Bellatrix, he sent hundreds of needles towards it. And with his final spell he sent another wave of powerful shadow magic outwards. His reflection only grinned back though as it raised both of its hands. Three towering shadowy, smoke-like figures rose from the ground, each of them taking the full brunt of Marik's spells.

 _It can even summon my shadow figures?_ Marik thought in disbelief as he watched the figures explode. He didn't watch for long as out of nowhere his head began racing and memories began flashing chaotically through his mind and all of his previous thoughts vanished from his mind.

Memories of old homes he had once lived in came to him and quickly left. Flashes of his mother's smile and his father's laugh came and went too. Like a slideshow memories and moments of his life played before him. He watched his first train ride unfold, heard the Sorting Hat sort him into Slytherin, and listened to Dumbledore tell him his parents were dead. He felt his first kiss with Alina, his last kiss with Luna, and his kiss right before the second task with Fleur on his lips as he watched the memories of them all unfold before him.

An endless stream of thoughts and emotions let loose alongside the scenes of his life played out before him. Flashes of anger flushed his cheeks and stings of pain sprouted out under his skin. He thought about yelling before changing his mind to think about his school work. After that he wondered who had the Deathly Hallows now before changing his thoughts again to think about what Alina was thinking about right then.

" _Legobarodo_! Get up Marik!" Harry shouted out and in instant all of the memories, thoughts, and emotions left Marik's head. With a blank stare Marik found himself staring at the ground of the dungeon room they were in. He had fallen to his knees and dropped his wand.

Tears had been streaming down his face and a small puddle had formed on the ground beneath him. The palms of his hands were bleeding where his fingernails had dug into them. _What the hell had happened to him._ Marik turned his attention from the floor to look upwards at the scene before him. Harry were still dueling their opponents and his reflection was still staring at him with a large grin.

" _Protego totalum!"_ a voice shouted from beside him as a body collided into him. Hermione had summoned an area shield around the both of them, protecting them both from the incoming ropes from her reflection and a bright blue spell from the Harry's. Hermione pulled him up off the ground as she held her shield up.

"This isn't working! They know all of our moves!" Hermione shouted out as she poured more magic into her shield.

"Hermione switch! _Protego totalum!"_ he shouted out as he slowly came back to the situation at hand and put up a shield spell of his own to give Hermione's magic a quick break.

" _Rubyflamen!_ What do we do?" Harry shouted from across the room as he continued to duel with his reflection.

"I don't know! _Fulminous!_ But we need to do something!" Hermione shouted back as she sent a wave of lightning at her enemy. Marik continued to pump magic into the shield around them and tried to think of anything that would help them.

 _Scores of doors line my halls, Each with something special within their walls, The mystery should be one of your fears, What's left unsolved could end your years, When you find the missing piece, You should worry about yourself the least, Because when you look into the mirror who do you see, But of course it is I, your greatest enemy. . ._ He repeated the clue they had been given over again in his head.

"Marik move!" Hermione shouted. Marik turned his head to see his reflection sending a powerful wave of shadow magic right at them and Hermione's sending a wave of fire. Marik dropped the shield and bolted. He could feel the energy of the shadow magic charging towards him as he was forced into a corner. With nowhere left to run he focused his magic and jumped into a shadow on the ground, only managing to dodge the shadow magic offensive spell by a few inches.

He guided his shadow along the floor, trying to as quickly as he could line it up behind Harry's reflection. Just as he was about to pounce up from his shadow and attack he was pulled out from the shadows and slammed viciously onto the hard ground of the dungeon floor. His ears started to ring as his head bounced off the stone floor and he could feel cool liquid running down his neck as splotches of white and purple spots clouded his vision. His reflection was staring at him, standing over him.

 _Because when you look into the mirror who do you see, But of course, it is I, your greatest enemy. . . You should worry about yourself the least. . ._

" _Lumos maxima!"_ he screamed out the spell, blinding his reflection and probably everyone else in the room as he rolled to his feet quickly. An idea had hit him like a wrecking ball, and he had to take the risk of possibly blinding Harry and Hermione to make it back up to his feet to tell them.

"You should worry about yourself the least! _Protego!"_ he shouted out into the room as a ball of fire collided with his shield.

"What?" Hermione shouted from the other side of the room.

" _Stupefy, flipendo!_ The clue! "You should worry about yourself the least!" We need to focus on the reflections that aren't ourselves," he replied as he sent two weaker spells towards his copy just to keep it busy.

"Marik you take Hermione's, _protego!_ Hermione you take mine, _stupefy,_ And I'll take Marik's! SWITCH NOW!" Harry screamed out. In a flash Marik bolted to the other side of the room where the copy of Hermione was still firing of spells.

"Look over here you bitch! _Umbrocaesa!_ " He sent his shadow magic cutting spell right at the ankles of Hermione's reflection.

" _Protego, expulso, aevumorbiduo!"_ Hermione's spell quickly reacted though and turned and countered with a deadly spell chain.

For any other duelist this would have probably been the end of the world. Defending against Hermione's parallel worlds time magic was damn near impossible. The minotaur in the first task had learned that the hard way. Thankfully, Marik was one of three people in all of Europe that had the opportunity to duel Hermione regularly and go up against the spell multiple times in practice.

" _Restituo, rensa maho!"_ Marik countered Hermione's copy's powerful spell chain. His first spell was a nullifying magic zone spell, that he placed directly in front of himself. The ten parallel world versions of the _expulso_ spells each vanished into nothingness as they crossed over the threshold of his nullifying zone spell. As the last spell vanished he summoned another large, black chain and sent it right at Hermione.

 _Come on Marik! You duel Hermione all the time! You know how to beat her!_ He internally screamed at himself.

" _Reducto, incarcerous!"_ Hermione's reflection countered his chain spell with her _reducto_ spell and blasted it into hundreds of tiny pieces. The reflection quickly followed up with a powerful rope spell of its own. He focused his shadow magic as the ropes closed in. A tall shadowy figure emerged from the ground and took the brunt of all of the ropes.

He didn't stop there though. He focused more magic into his shadows and summoned two more figures and sent them both charging at Hermione.

" _Rensa maho!"_ The Hermione reflection summoned a chain of its own and sent it hurling at his two shadow figures. He commanded his first figure to grab the chain and stop it in its tracks. The Hermione reflection wasn't able to banish her chain in quick enough time and his second shadow figure tackled her to the ground.

 _You have beat me before Hermione, but never when I use my shadow magic._

" _Umbrosio!"_ He charged at the reflection as it struggled on the ground in the grasp of his shadow figure. As he closed the gap between them to a mere two feet he sent a powerful blast of offensive shadow magic streaming into the reflection of Hermione. A loud scream filled the room and in a large burst of magical energy the reflection of Hermione vanished.

Marik looked down on the ground where the reflection had just been and saw his own reflection looking back at him. A large piece of the mirror was on the ground and a giant black _f_ was written on the glass.

"Each reflection drops a piece of the broken mirror! We have to beat them all to put the mirror back together!" he shouted out as he turned to scan the rest of the room. Hermione seemed to be handling the copy of Harry well enough on her own, and was currently blasting it with a powerful combination of ice and fire magic.

Harry on the other side of the room did not seem to be handling his copy to well. Shadow magic spell after shadow magic spell was being sent at Harry, who at the moment was almost locked into a corner as he tried to get off spells in between his shields. Marik bolted over to Harry to try and help.

"NO! Help Hermione fist!" Harry screamed at him as Marik closed the gap between them. " _Protego!_ Your copy is the best duelist copy so we may need all three of us on it! Help Hermione take out mine quick and I will try to hold it off! _Reducto!"_

Harry's argument made sense, especially since Marik was the only one out of them that could really work against his shadow magic. It took a lot of self control to not start hexing his own copy but he listened to Harry and turned to face Hermione.

" _Confundus, displodo, stupefy!"_ Hermione shouted out the spell chain at Harry's reflection as Marik made his way over.

" _Protego, expelliarmus, legilimens_!" The Harry copy shouted back with a spell chain of its own.

" _Gemenio!"_ As quickly as he could he threw the spell towards Hermione. Upon impact Hermione split into three different thought projections of herself. Marik was hopeful the reflection Harry's _legilimens_ spell would hit a thought projection Hermione and not the real one.

"Marik combo now! _Restituo!"_ The real Hermione shouted out towards him as she cast the nullifying magic area spell at the feet of the reflection.

" _Aisuterra, impedimenta, glacia sagittas!"_ Marik put a lot of power behind the spell chain and internally crossed his fingers that it would work.

With his first spell he summoned ice from the ground around the reflection's feet, causing it to be stuck in place. Just as it was about to counter the spell Marik's _impedimenta_ spell collided with the reflection, causing its movements to slow down just enough hopefully. With his third spell Marik conjured ten ice arrows, which he sent flying right at it.

" _Aevumorbioduo!"_ Hermione screamed out her parallel worlds time magic spell and aimed it at his ice arrows. What had been ten ice arrows quickly turned into a hundred ice arrows, all of which sped like a bullet at the Harry copy. Because of the magic nullifying area the reflection was stuck in, along with his ice and slowing spell it didn't stand a chance. Every single one of the ice arrows pierced it and it exploded with a powerful release of magic, leaving another piece of the mirror in its place. This piece had a letter _o_ written on it.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed out. Marik turned his attention from the mirror to see Harry being sent flying hard into the wall. His body landed with a loud thud as it hit the floor.

"A little help here now guys," Harry groaned out from the floor. Marik grinned a little when he saw that Harry still had a smile on his face as he lifted his head up.

"Let's go!" He shouted and charged at his own copy.

" _Expelliarmus, expulso, diffindo!"_ Hermione charged in full force with a powerful spell chain. Marik could see that the power behind her spells was a lot weaker than normally. They needed to end things with his reflection quick.

" _Speculum!_ " With a grin his copy summoned three mirrors around him, and reflected each one of Hermione's spells over towards Harry, who was only now getting on his feet. Marik charged and dove towards Harry.

" _Protego totalum!"_ he screamed out the spell as he collided with Harry and grimaced as the three spells impacted with his shield.

"Thanks mate," Harry said, patting him on his back as the three spells around his shield vanished.

"Anytime love," he replied with a grin as he readied himself for an attack.

"Watch out guys. He can cast spells silently too. I'm guessing he has access to Marik's rune-tattoo magic," Harry shouted as he readied himself too.

"I will lead, you guys follow! _Incendio, expulso, reducto!"_ He started off their offensive onslaught with three high powered flame and blast spells.

" _Seismosio!"_ His reflection shouted at the spell and immediately jumped into the shadows before Marik's spells came close or anyone could get off another spell. The ground of the room shattered and exploded in a powerful release of dust and stones as his reflection sent the earthquake spell wreaking havoc through the room. He fell to one knee and tried to balance himself as the room continued to shake and waited for his copy to come out of the shadows.

" _Rensa maho!"_ from somewhere in the room his reflection shouted out the spell and a large chain wrapped itself around him and started to drag him across the room through the air.

" _Diffindo!"_ Harry shouted and cut the chain pulling him across the room in half. Marik landed on the floor with a crash as his reflection once again drifted into the shadows.

 _Two can play at that game._

Marik dove into the shadows himself and searched for where his copy was. He found it, behind Harry, looking ready to bounce. Focusing his magic he surged forward and pulled himself and his reflection out from the shadows and into the air of the room.

" _Ruptakima!"_ As he flew through the air with his arms wrapped around his copy he cast the wave blast spell. Emerging from the center of his chest a powerful wave of blue magic burst outwards in a circle away from him, sending his reflection exploding outwards into the room away from him and sending Marik hard into the ground beneath him. More white and purple spots of light came into his vision as his head once again nailed the hard bricks of the dungeon floors. He could feel more blood leaking out down his neck now and taste it on his lips.

" _Silencio, displodo!"_ someone in the room shouted. Marik couldn't see anything but blurry white lines as his eyes were slow to adjust from his head's collision.

" _Sorbeo, umbrosio!"_

" _Protego totalum!"_

" _Yamipulso!"_

" _Reducto,_ Harry go!"

" _Stupefy, protego, confundus!"_

" _Protego, acusio, umbrocaesa!"_ Marik heard his reflection shout out the spell combo just as his eyes started to adjust. He quickly rose to his feet and tried to find his balance. His head was killing him and he was finding it difficult to focus his eyes with all the waves and splotches in his vision.

" _Protego, petrificus totalus!"_ He could barely make out Hermione countering his reflection.

" _Incarcerous!"_ Marik could see Harry sending ropes at it. He had to act now while they had him kept busy. He focused as much magic as he had left in him into the shadows. Closing his eyes as he focused he tried to conjure as many hands up from his reflection's shadow as he could. As he felt the drain quickly taking all of his magic from him he opened his eyes and saw his reflections struggling in the grips of dozens of his shadowy hands.

 _Now is your one shot Marik._

" _Diskumbrion!"_ He summoned a black, shadowy disk into his left hand and threw it flying at the head of his reflection. His shadow disk went straight through his reflection's neck like a knife through paper and in another release of magical energy it exploded, blinding everyone in the room with a bright white light.

Marik fell to his knees, exhausted physically, and drained of every ounce of magic he had left in him.

* * *

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	58. Book4: Chapter 12-5

**Marik**

"Please, tell me someone saw some damn fireworks," he panted out. Between the exhaustion, drain on his magic, and the injury to his head it was hard to get the words out.

"No, still no fireworks. Are you okay?" Hermione asked him. He could feel her fingers looking over the back of his head.

"Yeah, I will be fine. Harry how are you?"

"I'm fine, just exhausted as hell,"Harry replied.

"Did my copy drop a mirror piece too?"

"Yeah, it did. It had the letter _l_ on it too," Hermione answered.

" _F, o, l,_ huh?" He put all his effort and strength into trying to get back up to his feet, which was very difficult at the moment. "So what now?"

"I guess we put the mirror back together again," Harry replied and Marik could see Harry picking up the pieces of the mirror and making his way over to the wall where the mirror had been.

"Here." Hermione handed Harry the third piece of the mirror.

"We're missing a piece?" he asked as he made his way over to his friends. Even with the three pieces there was still a large portion of the top of the glass that was missing.

"Seems so," Harry replied.

"Guys look!" Hermione pointed at the top of the mirror. In the spot where the glass was still missing a letter was carving itself into the wood.

" _O,"_ Harry read the letter out loud.

"I don't get it," he said. He was beyond the point of being able to think through more puzzles like this.

"Me either," Hermione admitted.

"Lets scan the room again. Maybe something else appeared after all of our copies were defeated," Harry ordered and they all slowly made their ways around the room, looking for anything that might shed some light on where they were supposed to go from here.

"Anything?" Harry asked after a few minutes of searching.

"Nothing," Marik replied. All he had found was dust and stone.

"Nothing," Hermione added.

"Nothing really stands out from the puzzle or clue either," Harry said, thinking out loud.

"What about the letter _o,_ does that stand out at all?" he asked.

"I can't think of anything," Hermione answered.

"What about all of the letters?" Harry's tone changed a little, sounding like he might have an idea.

"Explain," Hermione ordered.

"The letters were important in every room that we have been in so far, so they must still be important in this room too. What if this _o_ is the last letter and we have to spell something out with all of the letters," Harry explained. The pounding in Marik's head was getting worse and it was making it tough to process Harry's words.

"Hmm. . . I don't know. We have been given twenty-one letters since the beginning so it can't be just one word; it would have to be a phrase or something," Hermione replied.

"It's the best idea we have right now, Hermione make me and Marik copies of the letters we have been given and let's all see if we can find something in them," Harry ordered. Hermione took out two more pieces of parchment and copied all of the letters onto them for he and Harry. Marik laid down on the ground and started looking at the parchment, hoping desperately that they would come to the answer soon.

 _R, y, b, g, o, w, p, w, m, e, a, j, s, e, l, r, l, f, o, l, o._ He read the words over and over again in his head, trying to make words out of them. The more he thought the more his head started to hurt. This was almost like torture when you were this mentally and physically exhausted. For a while they all just sat on the ground in a circle in silence, looking over their pieces of parchment.

"Anyone found any words?" he asked after a while, needing to take a break.

"I have found bunch of words, but none that make sense together. _Ogres, wager, bears, brawl, wager, barrell, barley,"_ Hermione read off words from her list.

"I think we need to focus more on the context and less on just looking for words. With this many letters we could end up here for weeks," Harry said.

"What is the context?" he asked.

"Well I guess mirrors, puzzles, Triwizards' Tournament, Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore," Harry answered.

"Why Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Well he designed the task, so he had to be the one to decide what the words spell," Harry answered him.

"Yeah, you're right. Which means we are never going to solve this. Dumbledore is too quirky. Knowing the Headmaster it is going to me some exotic type of candy or a fancy robe designer that we have never heard of." He rubbed his temples, trying to alleviate some of the pain behind his eyes.

"That's it!" Hermione screamed out into the room. Marik turned to face her and could see her scribbling out letters like a madman on her parchment.

"Elaborate please," Harry looked just as perplexed as he did as they both watched Hermione work.

"Harry you know a lot more about wizarding candies than we do. What is a type of jelly candy?" Hermione frantically asked Harry.

"Uhh lemme think. . . jelly beans, jelly buttons, jelly skulls. . ." Harry was scratching his head as he tried to think.

"No, none of those are it. Keep thinking," Hermione ordered.

"I don't eat a lot of jelly candies so this tough. Uhh, jelly straws, jelly worms, jelly. . ."

"That's it!" Hermione shouted.

"Did you solve it?" Marik asked. All of this was flying over his head.

"Partially. It has to be something with candy knowing Dumbledore. Everyone who has ever met him or read about him knows he is a candy fiend. I spelled out jellyworms so far with the letters, which just leaves: _e, b, p, o, w, l, a, r, g, o, f, g._ Harry what flavors of jellyworms are there?"

"I mean there are tons. Strawberry, watermelon, cherry, pineapple, grape, lemon, taffy. . ." Harry started to answer.

"Grape!" Hermione shouted out again. Marik was amazed that she was somehow piecing this together. "Grape Jellyworms. Now we just need to get rid of: _f, b, o, o, w, l._ "

"Hmm. . ." Harry thought outloud.

"Bowl?" Marik said, that being the first word that came to mind with the letters Hermione gave them.

"BOWL OF GRAPE JELLYWORMS!" Hermione shouted! As soon as the words left Hermione's mouth a bright flash of light appeared from the mirror, blinding them all for a second. When the light vanished the missing piece of the mirror had appeared and fitted itself into the mirror.

"Fireworks?" Harry asked, as they all looked around the room, hopeful they would see some sparks.

"No. . ." Marik answered first, not attempting to hide the tone of the defeat in his voice. This task was killing him, literally.

"Guys look, the mirror has writing on it now," Hermione said as she examined the mirror more closely.

"What does it say?" Harry asked, moving over to join Hermione near the mirror.

"Mirror of Erised. Harry we read about that mirror didn't we?" Hermione asked Harry. Marik was too exhausted to participate in their discussion and continued to just lay on the floor.

"The name does ring a bell. Give me a second to think," Harry replied. For another long silent moment they all remained quiet inside the dungeon room, Hermione and Harry deep in thought and Marik just trying not to pass out.

"Mirror of desires. . ." Harry mumbled, breaking the silence after a while.

"Its reflection shows what you most desire! What do you both see in it?" Hermione finished Harry's thought. Marik painfully lifted himself up from the floor and made his way awkwardly over to the mirror to look into it.

"I see all of us, Alina, and my family in my living room. We are all sitting together, talking, and laughing. And there is a copy of the Daily prophet on the tea table. It says _Voldemort Truly Dead_ in big bold letters," Harry whispered out as his eyes widened and looked deeper into the mirror.

"I'm with Dumbledore in his office. He's just told me personally that I was ranked the number one witch in Europe. I look so excited. Dumbledore's asking me if I would do him the honor of being his apprentice and studying directly under him too. What do you see Marik?" she asked him.

Marik approached the mirror and looked into it; at first only seeing himself before the visage before him faded. He looked deeper into the mirror and spoke of what he saw.

"I'm in the middle of a stadium, thousands of people are seated around me cheering. I'm standing above Flitwick's body. I've just conquered him in a duel and been named Dueling Master of Europe. I look older and I'm holding a wand different to my own. . ." his voice trailed off as he spoke and continued to look into the mirror.

"Maybe we have to desire a door to get to where the cup is?" Harry asked.

"Hmm. . . maybe. . ." Hermione thought outloud.

"The cup!" he mumbled, as he dropped to the floor from exhaustion. He had bleed so much he was sure he would pass out soon.

"What was that?" Hermione asked him. He lifted his head up.

"We desire the cup!" he shouted, and returned his head down to the floor, too exhausted to keep it up.

"That's it!" Marik heard Harry shout. Whatever his friends did next Marik missed, but he did not miss the sound of fireworks being fired off into the air. It took all the energy he had left in him, but at the sound of the sparks somehow a smile and a grin found its way to his lips.

"We did it!" Hermione screamed out into the room.

"Yay!' he half-heartedly mumbled as his world started spinning and he felt himself getting sucked through a tight hole. The spinning of the familiar portkey sensation combined with the spinning already going on in his head was too much for him to handle. As soon as he felt his back land on something soft he leaned over and emptied his stomach. Thankfully someone had foreseen that this may have happened and all of his stomach's contents found there way into a bin by the medical gurney's side that he was now laying on.

"Nice," Harry joked from beside him. Marik's eyes took a few moments to slow down from all the spinning and puking but once they did he could see that they were inside the champion's tent again. The champion's tent was bustling with people and staff attending to what he assumed was other champions. One of the Durmstrang medical staff already was pushing him onto his side and was poking and prodding the back of his head.

"Who else is here?" he asked Hermione and Harry in between winces of pain as the medical staff poured something into his hair.

"Both the other teams are," Hermione answered.

"Does that mean we came in last?"

"Looks like we might have," Harry answered him sounding gloomy.

"Damn, even when we were the only team with a clue too. Do any of them at least look in bad shape?" he asked again. His world was still so foggy and wavy he could barely make out his friends in front of him.

"Champions listen up!" He never got his answer as the voice he recognized as Dumbledore called out into the tent. Marik sat up and had to fight off the medical staff from trying to pin him down so he could see and hear their Headmaster.

"Congratulations to you all for completing the second task of the Triwizards' Tournament. Each team's performance had once again proved that you are the best team's in your schools. We all must admit that your strategies and teamwork were all quite inspiring to behold. Please give yourself a round of applause for what you have achieved." The champion's tent was filled with applause.

"Now on each team's performance. Beauxbatons was the first team to to finish the task and did so a full forty-three minutes before the next team. Durmstrang came in second place, and Hogwarts was the third to finish and did so fourteen minutes slower than Durmstrang. Out of all the teams Hogwarts suffered the greatest amount of physical injuries. You will now be awarded points based off of your performances on the task from each Headmaster. The scores from this round will be added to the scores from last round to give you your current total scores.

"Starting with Beauxbatons, I award you nine points," Dumbledore announced.

"I also award Beauxbatons with nine points," Durmstrang's Headmaster said.

"Nine points as well," Beauxbaton's headmaster added with a large grin.

"Next is Durmstrang, I award you eight points," Dumbledore continued.

"I award Durmstrang eight points as well," Durmstrang's Headmaster added, looking much happier with his team's performance this round.

"I will also award Durmstrang with eight points," Beauxbaton's Headmaster said.

"And lastly, for Hogwarts, I award you seven points," Dumbledore said.

"I too award Hogwarts seven points," Durmstrang's Headmaster announced.

"I will award Hogwarts with seven points as well," Beauxbaton's Headmaster added.

"With these points tallied the new totals are such: Beauxbatons now leads all schools with fifteen-point-seven points. Hogwarts is in second place with an even fifteen points. And Durmstrang is still in third place with fourteen-point-three points.

"Congratulations again to you all, and we all wish you the very best of luck on the third and final task. Trust me when I say that you will need it."

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	59. Book4: Chapter 13

**Alina**

"The Mandrake plant has been used since ancient times and remains to be one of the most grown magical plants in Europe to this day. Can anyone tell me why the Mandrake is such an important plant," Durmstrang's herbology professor asked the class.

 _Yes, I could have told you what a Mandrake was used for in the first week of my second year!_ She screamed at the professor mentally.

"The Mandrake root contains a number of minerals used for painkillers and sedatives sir," a girl from Beauxbatons answered the professor.

"Right you are Miss Everest! Now, today we are going to learn about planting Mandrakes. So if you could all put on your earmuffs." Alina picked up the, stylish, earmuffs from the workstation and put them over her ears.

In their lesson on Mandrakes back at Hogwarts two people had passed out because of the Mandrake's cry and their neglection of their earmuffs. She secretly hoped it happened to someone again today, she could use a good laugh.

"Good, now watch me first and then follow my lead. First you want to throw a light amount of soil into your pot. Then you want to pluck the Mandrake out." Immediately every hand in the greenhouse went to cover their ears. Even with the earmuffs the sound of a Mandrake's cry was not a pleasant one.

Alina scanned the room to see if anyone looked pale or had passed out. Unfortunately people in this class seemed to all have a higher IQ than the two blokes in her class at Hogwarts had. _Damn, oh well._

The professor continued, "then you just stuff the Mandrake into the pot and fill the rest of your pot up with soil! Now, go on and try it yourself."

Alina reached her hand into the barrel of soil at the center of her workstation, taking two large handfuls of dirt and tossing it into her pot. She made her way over to the garden the baby Mandrakes were currently planted and looked to see if any of them had three leaves.

Her potions end of year project last year had used a lot of minerals from Mandrakes last year and she knew from all of the time she spent dealing with them last year that the ones with three leaves grew much better than the ones with one or two. After a few seconds of scanning she found a small cluster of three-leafers and plucked one out of the ground.

The cry of the baby Mandrake was annoying but you quickly learned to put the sound out. She carried the small plant over to her station and tossed it into her pot before it managed to bite, wiggle, or scream itself away from her.

 _Kinda looks the professor._ She thought to herself, and immediately found herself giggling a little at the thought. Durmstrang's herbology professor was about as ugly and dirt covered as any of these screaming Mandrakes were. If you stuffed him in a pot it might actually take a while for people to figure out he wasn't a Mandrake.

She reached back into the soil bag and slowly filled her pot up to the brim, thankfully quieting the screaming Mandrake inside. Around her other students were following suit and after few minutes the greenhouse was quiet once again. That is outside of the complaints and whimpers of a Durmstrang girl who had been bit in the finger by her baby Mandrake.

"Well done everyone! You will now be in charge of watering, changing soil, and grooming your Mandrake on your own until they are ready to be harvested. Any plants that die before harvest will see you a drop on your grade so be diligent! That will be all for today, you are dismissed!"

She tossed her earmuffs into the bin and pulled her bag over her shoulder before heading out of the greenhouse and onto the castle grounds.

It was a quiet dreary day outside, the literal calm before the storm. A blanket of grey clouds hung overhead, looking as if they could burst at any second. Normally on the crest of the hill that Durmstrang castle sat perched atop it was windy, but today the trees leaves stood still and the many flags on the castle hung un-waving. Both of them waiting for the winds of the storm looming to kick up.

Out of fear of the possibility of rain it appeared that the normal crowds of students that made camp out on the lawn in between and after lessons had decided to stay put inside today. Today only the few scattered trees, fountains, and crows could be seen out on the grounds.

She followed the stream of students making their ways from the greenhouse up towards the castle. She bumped her way through the crowds at the front entrance and squeezed through a group of Durmstrang students to get inside the dining hall. It appeared her class had been a little later getting out then everyone else's. Hermione, Harry, Marik, and Fleur were all already seated at their usual spot and already looked lost in conversation. Begrudgingly, she made her way over to them and headed down the side of the table Harry and Hermione were on.

"Hey," she mumbled as she took the seat next to Hermione. An empty plate appeared in front of her and she immediately started piling food from the nearby bowls onto it. Nothing made you hungrier than a boring Herbology lesson.

"Hey Alina, how was herbology?" Hermione asked her.

"Boring as usual. I swear I haven't learned a single new thing from any of these Durmstrang classes."

"I'm sure that's not true. And if it is then that's why you have all of our old notes," Harry replied.

"Yeah yeah, although you and Marik's penmanship is so bad that I'm spending half of my free time learning to read your writing instead of learning what you wrote about."

"Hey my penmanship is not that bad!" Marik tried to argue.

"Marik hun, a troll could write more legible than you," Fleur laughed.

"Wow! Let's see if I ever let you look at my notes again then!" Marik proclaimed, overly exaggerating the crossing of his arms in defiance.

"That's fine. Hermione will let me use her notes still," Fleur added, her usual flirtatious smile plastered on her face.

"So!" Alina interjected. "Are you all going to the our practice room after this?" she asked, changing the topic. She could use a could afternoon with her friends today.

"Oh sorry Alina I can't," Hermione said apologetically.

"What why not?"

"Fleur promised me yesterday that she would show me the _antifire_ potion that she has been working on and afterwards I told her I would help her find a book for her charms project," Hermione answered.

"Me and Marik won't be able to make it to the room today either. We rented the viewing room today to watch the replay of the second task again. You're welcome to join us there if you want though," Harry added as he forked a bit of steak off his plate.

"What! Didn't you all watch the replay like two days ago?"

"Yeah we did. This time though we are only going to watch the other school's perspectives. We want to get a few more notes taken down," Marik answered her and grabbed a roll off the table.

"Watch as much as you like, there is no way you are beating Beauxbatons!" Fleur challenged.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, enjoy number one while you can!" Hermione quipped.

"So you going to come with?" Marik asked her as he stood up from the table.

"No thanks."

"Your welcome to come with me and Hermione if you want," Fleur offered.

"No thank you. I'll just see you all later," she sighed.

"Alright then, see ya later cuz," Harry bellowed with a wave as they all stood up and left her alone at the table.

Now alone, she craned her neck to get a good view of the Durmstrang table where Dedrick normally sat but did not see him there either. She had seen her boyfriend only sparingly since the end of the second task. Any free time Dedrick had was allocated to preparing and training for the third and final task of the Triwizards' Tournament. Their entire relationship by a week after the task was limited to quick kisses in the hallway between classes or a fast meal at the dining hall.

 _Looks like i'm flying solo today. . . as usual._ She pushed herself up from the table, having lost her appetite, and slung her bag around her shoulder again as she left the dining hall.

With most of the castle's occupants in the dining hall the hall's of Durmstrang were just as quiet as the grounds of the castle were. Each sound of her footsteps echoed off the walls as she headed up the center stairwell of the castle and made her way to their usual practice room.

She closed the door to the room behind her and threw her bag onto nearby table before she sat down on the couch on the window side of the room. She had been looking forward to today for a while now. She had been putting off adding the next layer of her _animagus_ ritual until after the second task, so that her friends could watch her without hurting their chances in the task by cutting into their preparation time.

However, finding free time with them even after the task was over was an impossible task and getting all of them together in the same room an even tougher task. Hermione and Fleur had apparently become best friends since the Yule Ball. Everyday they were either working together on something, going to the library to research something, or here in the practice room showing each other a new spell they had learned in a lesson.

The few times Hermione wasn't with Fleur she was with Harry. The two of them had become even more inseparable now that they were official and even though she was happy for the both of them she hated that their relationship and dates took away from the time she normally got to spend with them.

Harry was never free either. If he wasn't on a date with Hermione, he was either in class or preparing for the third task with Marik. Even with three months until the third task they weren't wasting anytime. Again, she was happy for them, and understood what they were doing, but still, she hated that the tournament was stealing them away from her so much.

And Marik, well, she didn't want to hang out with Marik. He was glued to the hip with Fleur and the more she was the two of them together the more pissed off she got. Even if she was supposed to be happy that her friend was happy with his new girlfriend, she wasn't.

So all in all you could say that Alina's life had become a lonely shade of grey, just like the clouds outside. Her third year was slowly starting to feel a little like her first year had. Most of her time throughout her first year, when she wasn't completely possessed by Voldemort, she had spent locked inside a practice room like this one, all alone.

"Well no since just wasting time feeling sorry for myself," she sighed out to herself and pushed herself up from the couch. She took out her wand from her robes and moved over to the center of the room.

She had been ready for the fourth layer of her _animagus ritual_ for just about three weeks now. She had been preparing for it since adding the third layer shortly after the first task of the tournament and was confident that she could do it without any hiccups. Seeing Harry do his _animagus_ transformation and rituals a countless number of times had only added to her confidence in comfortability with the magic.

Today she would be adding the body layer to her ritual. So far she had her arms, legs, and tail completed and down to where she could do it consistently. From all of her reading, research, and help from McGonagall and Harry she knew that the body layer was especially difficult because of all the animal instincts it released.

She would have to fight the natural instincts of a jaguar throughout the entire process and would have to keep her composure once she conjured this layer if she wanted to transfigure back without any injuries. With a final deep breath she cleared her mind of everything but the ritual, dropped to her knees and raised her wand.

Immediately the familiar sensation of her arms changing into their jaguar form swept over her and she allowed the magic to flow through her hands into the now present glowing ring around her body. As soon as her claws poked out and the last few hairs stood up she pushed her magic out further and drew out the second ring underneath her.

The always uncomfortable feeling of bones bending took ahold of her as her legs shortened themselves and shifted in their form. She focused on calming her breathing and maintaining her energy and focus as her legs quickly finished shifting. Next was the tail.

Even with having practiced this layer hundreds of times, growing a tail from nothing was something that was hard to get used too. As the third layer of her ritual drew itself under her she braced herself for the feeling. She did her best to maintain her focus as her tail sprouted out and slowly extended outwards and down to the floor. When it reached its peak length she took a few more moments to relax herself and prepare for her fourth ring.

With nothing but the image of a jaguar in her mind she began drawing the fourth ring, making sure to keep absolute focus on forming the ring. Quickly her body temperature began to rise as she felt millions of thin hairs trying to poke themselves through her skin. She could feel ribs bending and even her organs moving inside her stomach.

It took every ounce of strength she had left to keep herself from cutting off the ritual then and there, but she didn't. She stayed strong and grunted as the pain increased. Slowly her body molded into its _animagus_ form. She could already feel the primal instincts quickly shooting messages into her brain and her senses changing their attunements. With each second it became harder to maintain her focus but thankfully she was nearly done.

The ring beneath her feet slowly came to a full circle and completed itself and with a final bright glow signaled that the fourth layer of her ritual was completed. With a sigh, groan, and a straining release of magic she ended her ritual and felt her body quickly alter back its form. With a soft 'clap' she fell from her knees to the floor, and lay there for a few moments just trying to collect her breath.

"I did it!" she announced to the empty room, her voice exasperated and full of heavy breaths. Both of her hands shot up towards the ceiling victoriously before falling back down to her sides.

As happy and proud of herself as she was the satisfaction of completing the fourth layer of her ritual it was a little watered down without the congratulations of her friends.

"Well. . ." she muttered as she sat upright, unsure of where to go or what to do from here. Adding her fourth layer to her ritual had been her only real plan for the afternoon. This was usually the spot where one of her friends would step in and start another project or something. She stared at the door of the room half expecting Hermione or Harry to bust in with a new spell that she needed help practicing. The door remained closed however. "Guess I should let McGonagall know at least."

She stood up and took a second to regain her center of balance. Too many times she had fallen flat on her ass from trying to move around too much after doing an _animagus_ transfiguration. After she felt confident enough that she could keep her balance she grabbed her bag from the nearby desk and left the practice room.

Judging by the light shining in from all of the windows lining the hallways her time in the practice room had been short, which meant she still had a lot of time to kill today. _Yay._

She made her way through the still empty halls of the castle towards the center stairwell again. Slowly, she progressed up the stairs to the owlery. Hundreds of owls of all shapes and colors were either perched in their nests grooming themselves or fluttering about around the large room. A particular pair of energetic owls seemed to be racing through the arches lining the side of the room, looping inside and outside each pillar they passed by.

A large grey-feathered barn owl hopped across the straw and stick covered floor of the owlery over to her. She opened up her bag to find a treat to give the owl. " _Accio_ treat." A small owl treat flew out from somewhere in the darkness of her bag out into her hand. She crouched down to get closer to the owl and let it nip the treat out from her fingers. With a grateful hoot, almost as if the owl was saying _thank you,_ the owl hopped closer to her.

"Give me one second to write the letter please," she pleaded to the owl with a soft smile. The owl gave her another hoot in response and began licking at its feathers while it waited patiently. She took out a piece of parchment and one of her quills and scribbled out a quick letter to McGonagall. She had promised the transfiguration professor to keep her posted of any progress on her _animagus_ ritual.

McGonagall and her colleagues book was apparently coming along quite smoothly and both witches seemed to get excited at every bit of information they were given on her _animagus_ progress. She was sure as soon as she got back on Hogwarts soil McGonagall would ask her for copies of each of her two new layers memories so that they could examine them over. She of course would oblige, after all, a book on _animagus_ written by McGonagall had to be a gold mine of information.

After adding her signature she stuffed the letter into an envelope and gave the letter to the eager owl, who grabbed it in its beak. The owl instantly jumped off the floor and spread its wings wide as it flew out through two columns. She watched the owl as it grew smaller out in the distance, it's grey feathers blending in easily with the storm clouds.

"Now what?" she found herself mumbling the question again. She stood rooted to the floor of the owlery for a brief while, just staring at the owls around her.

All of the owls looked so peaceful, as if all was right in the world and not was wrong. They all seemed to have lovers or friends to nest with and each owl that flew in from outside seemed to have another owl anxiously waiting for them wherever they landed. Her already sour mood only seemed to sour more when she realised that she was standing there feeling jealous of owls. Shaking her head and her thoughts she turned towards the door of the owlery and headed back into the castle.

On days like today trying to kill time studying, practicing, or reading was pointless for her. During days like this one her mind was stuck in overdrive-overthink mode, with an endless stream of thoughts entering and leaving her mind every second. She knew that the best thing to do during days like today was to just hurry up and get to the next day, and the best way to do that was sleep.

She quickened her pace down the many flights of stairs leading from the owlery and made her way towards the Hogwarts quarters. The rain clouds outside seemed to have finally succumbed to the weight of the water and let loose. The sound of the pitters and patters of rain sounded from the sills of the windows lining each hallway's sides, muffling the conversations of the few students making their way through them.

She loved the sound of rain outside a window and was upset that her room here at Durmstrang did not have a window like the girl's dorm at Hogwarts did. Nothing beat laying under the covers and falling asleep to the sound of rain. At Durmstrang all she got to fall asleep to was the sound of her roommate, Renee Tailor's whispers as she read her books on the other side of the room late into the night.

Thankfully, for now, their room was empty. Renee, a Hufflepuff in the same year as her, had a cousin that went to Durmstrang and spent most of her time somewhere in the castle with him. Hopefully, she would be out for long enough that Alina could fall asleep.

Alina tossed her bag onto her desk and took of her school clothes. She found one of her favorite longsleeve Hogwarts shirts, that was about three sizes too big for her and donned it. After pulling back the covers of her bed and extinguishing all of the candles in the room she tucked herself in and pulled the covers over herself.

 _Going to bed before dinner time, how cool am I._ She thought sarcastically to herself as she pulled her pillow tighter into her face and got comfy. Yawns came soon and before long the sleepy weights weighed down on her eyelids; soon after, sleep came.

 **~O~**

 _The wooden floor creaked beneath the weight of the footsteps as the figure headed down the hallway. Each of the figure's footsteps was heavy, like they were walking with an intent and purpose. At the end of the hallway the door stood ajar, creaking a blindingly bright yellow light into the dark hallway and illuminating the shadows around the figure._

 _The figure's footsteps slowed as it approached the door and eventually stopped dead, only a few feet from the escaping light of the doorway. Like stone the figure stood still, waiting for something maybe? Or perhaps listening to something._

 _A sound other than the creaking of the floor echoed into the hallway. It was voices talking, words being exchanged from the room ahead. The figure cupped its hand around its ear and pressed it up against the door, trying to take in the conversation being exchanged on the other side of the light._

" _So the plan is finally finished then?" one voice seemed to ask another in the room._

" _We have prepared everything we can at this point," the other voice answered, its voice calm and unwavering._

" _Is there anything else you think we need to cover?" another voice questioned._

" _We have covered everything, come on it's time!" the first voice declared._

" _Should we tell her?" the third voice asked, its voice almost a whisper._

" _Why would we tell her?" the second voice asked in an almost jest._

 _The statement seemed to anger the figure listening at the door. Its grip tightened around the wand in its clutch. In a flash the figure swung the door open and illuminated the entire hallway in a flood of blinding green light. Wretched screams emerged from somewhere in the room beyond the light. Three flashes of bright green light momentarily illuminated the room and hallway before all of the light in the area seemed to disappear._

 _Only blackness remained. A small speck of white light appeared at the center of the room, hovering at the room's midpoint. The light was emerging from the figure's wand and was barely illuminating the now dark room. A satisfied smile could be seen under the hood of the cloak the figure was wearing as it looked down towards the ground, pleased at whatever it saw._

 _A long mane of twisted black hair ruffled itself down the back of the figure as it took of its hood and began laughing a sadistic type of laugh. Slowly the figure crouched down onto one knee, lowering its wand closer to the ground. Beneath the wand light three bodies lay sprawled across the floor, their eyes lifeless and unwavering, their bodies motionless. Dead._

 **~O~**

"Holy shit!" she wailed out into the room, her voice full of panic and her body out of breath. Her hands were shaking violently and she could tell that her skin was soaked in sweat.

"You okay?" a voice asked from somewhere in the room, startling her even more. She turned her head quickly to see that it was Renee who had asked the question. That meant that she was in her room right now.

 _It was just a dream. It was just a dream Alina._ She forced herself to take a few big gulps of breath to calm her nerves and put a stop to the shaking.

"Yeah, just had a bad dream," she stammered her reply out, her voice was still a bit shaky.

"I could tell. You were mumbling a lot under your breath and turning a lot in your bed. I was just about to come over there and wake you up," Renee replied, closing the book in her lap.

"I was mumbling? What was I saying?" she asked.

"No clue. Here." Renee made her way across their small room and handed her a towel and a glass of water. "Drink," she ordered. Alina followed Renee's orders and took a big sip from the glass. The water felt cool as it went down her throat and seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Thanks," she started as she wiped her brow with the towel, "what time is it, do you know?"

"A little after nine," Renee answered her and made her way back over to her bed and opened her book back up, "so you still have plenty of time for more sleep."

"Yeah, no. I think I'm done with sleep tonight." She downed the rest of the water Renee had given her and set the glass on her nightstand. Her shirt was sticking to her sweaty skin as she moved. "I'll be right back, gonna take a quick shower." She got out of her bed and grabbed her shower bag off of her nearby dresser. She felt gross from all of the sweat.

There was no way in hell she would be able to fall asleep after a dream like that. Never had she had a nightmare as real as that one. Whatever her brain had dreamt up in that dream it had mentally shook her in her core. Her hands were still quivering and her mind was still racing. No, for the rest of the night she would be forcing herself to stay awake with a book or something, which of course was the 'perfect' way to end a 'great' day like today. _Yay._

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	60. Book4: Chapter 14

**Sooooooo time for another quick rant! Have no fear this one is less over dramatic than my slip up last week! So first off, thank you so much to everyone for leaving such kind reviews, messages, and forum responses in response to my rant and the previous chapter releases. Last week the series had more activity than ever before and somehow we surpassed follows with reviews! (Which I think we are probably the only series over 300k words on the site to ever do that lol) Anyways, thank you again. Your feedback and kind words helped me a lot ot take a critical look at the series and think about things. I even managed to get three whole new chapters written last week because I was so fueled to get you guys out some better stuff.**

 **As of now I will not be going back and making major changes to the series. Eventually I will, but right now I am happy with things overall and really just wanna get all of book four out to you guys so you can hurry up and get to book 5(its kind of my favorite so far!). With that being said please, please, please continue to leave me your feedback, again you have no idea how much your words pump me up and kick my ass into gear when it comes to writing.**

 **Before you move on to this chapter I would also like to let everyone know I created a twitter. The account will cover any and all of my fanfics and has been created to give you guys another platform to follow and discuss the story. I will frequently be posting updates, teasers, and other things on there. Please follow me at OseRSFanfic. Thanks and enjoy the rest of book four!**

* * *

 **Hermione**

The quiet inside the room was beginning to drive her a little mad. Everyone inside of their study room had been busy working on their end of year projects for closing on a few hours now and a concentrated silence had taken ahold of the room and its occupants. While her friends seemed to be making headway on their work she was making no progress whatsoever with her project. All she was doing was spending the time getting annoyed by how quiet the room was and how little work she was getting done.

April was always the time in the school year where most students started to get serious with their end of year projects. Professors began to slowly allow more and more free time around this time of the year and spending time in the library or practice room was encouraged if not expected. Just like in her past three years at Hogwarts by this time in the year she had already narrowed down what her projects for each class would be. That was the easy part for her. The hard part was actually making progress on her projects and getting them completed.

Even with the tournament taking up a lot of her time throughout the year she was still fully expecting to make just a big of a splash in the water as she had last year, if not an even bigger one; that is if she managed to actually finish all of her projects on time. The classes at Durmstrang were not necessarily easier than the one at Hogwarts, but many of the lessons did cover topics that they had previously learned at Hogwarts, which allowed her the time outside of class usually spent reading to work more on her projects.

Last year she had earned four ' _M_ ' rankings, thanks in large part to her end of year projects, this year she was planning on just as many. She was confident in her potions project earning her a top mark again this year; with all the time and effort she had already put into making brewing her potion possible it would be a great disappointment if she did not end up on tthe top.

This year she was attempting to brew the most advanced and difficult potion she had ever brewed before. The potion, known as the _dragon's breath potion,_ was a potion, was so time intensive and volatile that currently only somewhere around sixty people in all of Europe had managed to even brew it at higher than ninety-eight percent accuracy before. Thankfully, two of those people she had access too.

Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape had provided her with an immense amount of help so far in the preparation stages and early brewing processes. When it came to anything dealing with dragons or dragons blood you could safely assume that Headmaster Dumbledore had some knowledge or experience with it, and _dragon's breath potion_ used a _lot_ of dragon's blood.

The ingredients list for the potion was massive too, and obtaining rare ingredients like dragon's blood, dragon scales, ashed lantadyme, and phoenix ash would be close to impossible for the average brewer. Thankfully Professor Snape had again come to her rescue here and set Hermione up with a number of his contacts throughout Europe and had made obtaining the ingredients possible, but certainly not cheap. Dumbledore had even gone so far as to give her a healthy supply of his own phoenix, fawkes's, ashes.

To this point, the hardest part of the potion by far had been obtaining dragon's fire, which is not an easy task as you might guess. Because of the first task of the Triwizards Tournament though, Durmstrang just happened to have a dragon on hand for a short period of time. With the help of Headmaster Dumbledore she had managed to snag a large portion of Hungarian Horntail's flame in a magical jar.

By this point in the year most of her time had been spent just preparing the potion. Just a little over two weeks ago she had at last began brewing the potion and would be spending pretty much the remainder of the year finishing it. Upon completion, hopefully, the potion should provide the drinker with immunity to fires of all type. The only way to feasibly test her potion would be to be hit with fire, which would definitely not be fun if all her work resulted in a failed potion.

As tough as the _dragon's breath potion_ was to brew it was not the end of year project that was putting her in a bad mood currently. No, that title currently belonged to her spell creation's project. Time-magic was Hell to say the least, and it was slowly becoming more and more apparent why it was not something every witch or wizard with a wand was creating. The immense amounts of math, testing, and theory needed to create a spell utilizing time-magic was insane, not to even mention the amount of focus and concentration needed to actually cast a spell.

She had managed to create five time-magic spells since she begun exploring the subject back in her third year. Each one of the spells had proven to be more complex than the next in its development. The one she was currently designing for her spell creations and charms project was no different.

The idea for the spell she was calling 'restore' for the moment, was to restore an item back to the state it was in before it took damage. So for example, say you broke a teacup, with the spell you could restore the teacup to how it was before it was broken, thus fixing it. Her _aevumcorretro_ spell applied a lot of the same principals that this spell would, but this spell took things to a whole nother level.

With her _aevumcorretro_ spell she was able to take a living thing and return it to a position that it was in moments earlier, like she did in the first task when she moved the minotaur back to where it had started its charge. With this spell, using the teacup example again, she not only had to do all of the math, theory, and tests to make the teacup to return to its old position, but also return to that position in the old, original un-broken state that it had been in.

And so far today she had made zero progress on figuring out how to make all of that happen. Zero!

"Ughhhh I'm going to stab myself with this quill soon!" she growled.

"I'm sure that will give you a good spell creation's mark," Marik quipped with a sarcastic grin. She glared at him and he quickly returned his nose to his parchment.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked her, stretching his hands as he took a break from writing to look up at her.

"I cannot think of a way to make the math work to even get my spell started. I've been stuck at stage one for hours now!" she groaned, admitting defeat outloud only made her temples hurt worse.

"Maybe you should take a break," Fleur suggested.

"I don't have time to take a break!"

"Hermione, it's April. You still have plenty of time. Most people are just now starting to even think about their projects. You are already halfway done with some of yours. You have plenty of time for a break," Fleur argued.

"'Mione doesn't know how to take breaks. One time she told me and Harry that she was going to take a break and go for a walk around the castle, we found her six hours later in the middle of the library a hundred pages into a book on the history of magical squids," Marik laughed.

"Hey that is not fair!" she shouted, even if it was technically true. That had been the first time she had seen the giant squid in the lake! What else was she supposed to do after seeing a sight like that.

"Another time she even pretended to take a nap in our study room but had really just used a disillusionment charm on the book she was reading and hid it under her blanket with her," Harry added.

"Guys!" she blurted. That one was also true.

"Hermione you really are helpless aren't you?" Fleur chuckled.

"She is," both Harry and Marik said in unison. Neither one of them even lifted their noses from their papers to answer.

"I am not!" she tried to argue. No one seemed to believe her though.

"Come on then," Fleur ordered her and quickly stood up and began packing her things away.

"What? Where?" she asked, confused.

"I am going to be a good friend and help you take a break," Fleur answered her and started packing Hermione's things away too.

"But I!" she started to protest.

"Hermione!" Fleur playfully shouted. "You know that you are my favorite but I will hex you if you don't come with me!"

"She will trust me," Marik added and his body gave a scared shiver.

"At least tell me where!" she pleaded as Fleur practically pulled her out of her chair.

"You will just have to be spontaneous for once and trust me!" Fleur sassed.

"I could use a break too, maybe I will. . ." Marik started to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Marik you on the other hand do not have time for a break. You have only added one paragraph to your research on Ancient Egyptian runes since we got here, so you need to stay here and keep going," Fleur exclaimed.

"She sure told you," Harry laughed at Marik's misfortune.

"And you Mr. Potter!"

"Me?" Harry croaked.

"Yes you! Two paragraphs isn't much better than one! You need to stay here and work on your Hydra report or you aren't going to finish your care of magical creatures project on time either! Me and Hermione are going on a girl's only trip!" Fleur proclaimed.

"Girl's only trip?" she asked, unsure of what exactly a girl's only trip entailed having never been on one before.

"Yes, now come on! Bye boys." Fleur turned to the door and dragged Hermione by the hand along with her.

"Bye," both boys in the room groaned as the door closed behind them.

It was a Saturday at Durmstrang, which meant that the halls of the castle were packed with students moving freely from one area of the castle to another on their day off. Curious eyes locked on to her and Fleur as the French Champion continued to drag her through the castle's halls towards the front gate of the castle.

Fleur didn't seem to be slowing down at all though. Whatever her plans were for this, 'girl's only trip', they were apparently outside of the castle. Every student spending their day outside on the grounds seemed to be interested in what they were up too and Hermione could feel even more eyes staring the two of them down as Fleur continued to drag her across the grounds.

At last Fleur seemed to slow down when they arrived at a group of huge carriages parked under a canopy of tall trees on the edge of the grounds.

"Wait here for one sec okay," Fleur ordered.

"Okay?" she stammered out, still a little confused at what was going on and what she was about to be doing. Fleur approached the largest carriage of the group and knocked on the carriage's door. After a few seconds the giant Beauxbaton's Headmistress opened up the door and stuck her head out.

Even from where she was standing, Hermione could tell that the inside of the carriage was enchanted; it was probably the size of a mansion inside there. It had to be for the giant Headmistress to fit inside. Fleur and the Headmistress exchanged a few words in French that were spoken too far away for her to make out before the Headmistress took out her wand and threw a spell at one of the nearby carriages.

Six horses appeared out of thin air, looking ready to pull the carriage. Apparently satisfied with her spell the Headmistress nodded her head to Fleur and returned back inside her carriage. Fleur turned and skipped back to where Hermione was, a wide grin on her face.

"Ready to go?" Fleur asked, taking Hermione's arm into hers.

"Ready to go where?" she asked nervously, not sure if she wanted to know.

"To Anklam of course! Come on!" Once again Fleur was pulling Hermione alongside. They made their way over to the newly horsed carriage and Fleur politely opened the door for her. Nervously Hermione stepped into the carriage.

"Anklam? Where is Anklam? I've never heard of it," she asked Fleur as the door closed behind her friend.

"It's only a few miles away from Durmstrang. It's the closest wizarding town to the castle."

"Why are we going there?"

"To take a break of course!" Fleur exclaimed. "You know the more we hangout the more I discover how much alike you and me are," Fleur pointed out and the carriage lurched forwards.

"Why do you say that?"

"We both tend to put school above everything, even our own health and wellbeing. Last year in the last few months before end of year projects were due I spent every free minute I could in a lab room working on my projects, trying to make sure they were perfect. I ended up passing out from exhaustion at one point and had to spend a week in the hospital because of self-induced magical deficiency.

"I had been so caught up in my work that I didn't realise that I had missed meals, sleep, and that my magic was drained. You are the same way. If it wasn't for Marik and Harry making you stop to take breaths you would probably have the same happen to you."

Fleur probably had a point. Even with her friends keeping her in check she could list a number of times where she had been on the brink of exhaustion from overworking herself.

"So being the good friend that I am to you, after seeing you starting to look ready to hex your project I decided that this time I would take it upon myself to give you a day off and a refresher," Fleur smiled.

"Did I really look that bad?" she asked, a little embarrassed. She hadn't realised anyone could tell how annoyed she was getting with her work.

"If looks could kill we would all be dead," Fleur laughed. "Besides I wasn't making much progress on my spell creations project either so I needed a break too," Fleur admitted.

"And the truth comes out!"

"Oh shut up! Just try and have some fun today alright?"

"I will, I will! Why Anklam though?" she asked again, still curious why Fleur had chosen to take her there. "And are we even allowed to leave the school to go there?"

"I got permission for us both from my Headmaster so don't worry! Call it the perks of being a Triwizard Champion. And because we both just need to get away from the school for a bit and stretch our wings. No boys to worry about, no classes to stress over, and no other students staring at us because we are Triwizard Champions. Just a day to ourselves to do what we want and have some fun!"

"What are we going to do though?"

"You really don't know how to be spontaneous do you?" Fleur laughed.

"I really don't," Hermione admitted with a giggle.

The carriage ride to the city of Anklam was a short and fun ride. Fleur was right about getting away from the school doing them some good. Even before getting out of the carriage, just putting some distance between the school and them seemed to put all of her worries out of mind.

The town of Anklam was adorable to say the least. Historic looking buildings lined every wide streetside and there were dozens of adorable old couples hand in hand walking together and sharing a cup of tea outside the many shops. Whether it sounded creepy or not Hermione loved seeing old couples together. You just felt warm inside seeing a couple that had been in love for that long. It only made you hope that she could be that lucky and grow that old with Harry.

There seemed to be an endless number of cute shops of all varieties lining the streets. Every fifty feet or so there was also an enchanted fountain at the street's center, with water spewing out of a different magical beast at each one.

"It's so pretty!" she practically squealed as she stepped out of the carriage and onto the streetside.

"Isn't it?" Fleur smiled and headed down the street, Hermione quickly followed her. Anklam seemed to be a lot like Diagon Alley, only with a flea market like twist to things. Most of the shops looked to have hand crafted goods and there were very view big brand stores to be seen. They made their way down the sidewalk until Fleur stopped to look at something in one of the windows.

"Hermione love, you know what you would look so hot in."

"Huh, what?" she asked.

"A cute summer hat like that one, come on!" before Hermione could register Fleur's answer she was being dragged into a nearby clothing shop. Unlike the clothing shops of Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley everything here looked brighter and almost like something a family member would knit for you. There were elegant shirts, sweaters, and dresses of all colors and sorts all over the place. "Here." Fleur plopped something on top of her head.

Hermione turned to look in the nearby mirror. Fleur had placed a whickered summer hat with a red floral fabric wrapped around its base atop her head.

"I knew it! It looks perfect on you!"

"I don't know. . . you really think so?" She spun to get a look at it from the other side. She guessed she could pull it off a little.

"Of course I do. When you grow up with a mother like mine you learn fashion. That hat and a cute summer dress to go with it and you will have to stun Harry to keep him off you!" Hermione blushed at Fleurs remark and the thought of Harry. . . well, _on_ her. Fleur immediately made a b-line for the dress section.

"I do have to admit that you definitely know how to pick out an outfit."

"Let's make a deal Hermione," Fleur proposed.

"A deal?"

"Yeah, a deal! I will pick you out a few outfits since you are in dire need of some clothes that aren't jeans or pajamas and in exchange all I ask is that you help me find a present for Marik while were here in town, deal?" Fleur proposed.

"Even if it may be true that my closet is entirely jeans and pajamas you don't have to say it like that!" she asserted, even if Fleur did make a great point. "And why do you need to get Marik a present? His birthday is in November and there isn't a holiday for a while."

"Because I just want to get him something, you know-just a spontaneous gift. He has been so perfect to me and spoiled me practically everyday since we started dating. I just wanna do something for him, you know? So do we have a deal?" Fleur asked her again as she sorted through a few bright colored summer dresses on a nearby rack.

"I guess sure. My mother has been begging me to get some new clothes for years now. Although I don't know how much help I will be in finding something for Marik," she confessed.

"You are his best friend Hermione. Even if I'm his girlfriend you know him better than I do, and have known him for longer than I have."

"I'm his friend yeah, but Alina is his best friend. I always go to her whenever I have to buy him a gift. Don't tell him that though," she confessed.

"You think Alina is Marik's best friend, really?"

"Yeah, I do. What, you don't?"

"Me and Marik have been dating since December and I have barely seen those two together for more than a few minutes in that time at most. And the few times they have been together she looks more like she hates him than anything else. I always figured she put up with him so she could hangout with you and Harry," Fleur explained.

"Alina doesn't hate Marik. In fact, well. . . it's just complicated," she replied with caution.

"What's complicated?"

"I shouldn't say. I'm sorry, it's just that Alina wouldn't want me to say."

"Then don't say. I'm sorry I even asked. Here go try this one on." Fleur handed her a bright yellow dress and pushed her towards the fitting room. Reluctantly, Hermione entered and changed into the dress. As much as she hated wearing dresses she had to hand it to Fleur, the girl knew how to dress, so she would trust Fleur's judgment.

Surprisingly, the dress looked good on her, even better with the hat that Fleur had picked out too. It was an outfit choice Hermione would have never picked out in a thousand years but she thought that she actually looked pretty good in it.

"Well, come out here already! I wanna see!" Fleur blurted from the other side of the curtain. Hermione pulled the curtain aside and embarrassingly did a quick spin for Fleur. "I love it! We are going to get you this one and two others like it! What is Harry's favorite color?" Fleur shouted as she ran back over to the rack and looked for another dress similar to the one Hermione had on.

"Uhh, I actually don't know. He wears a lot of red I guess, but that's just probably because he's in Gryffindor." Unfortunately, the topic of favorite colors had never come up with Harry before.

Hermione felt like how her father did in stores whenever her mother took them all shopping. He just stood there looking lost and clueless the entire time her mother picked out clothes for them all. Hermione watched in awe as Fleur quickly picked out two other dresses for Hermione and in a flash Hermione had bags in her hands and they were back out on the streets of Anklam.

"Where to next?" Hermione asked.

"Hmm. . . How about we stop for some coffee and we can try and think of an idea for Marik. I saw a cute cafe last time I was here that I wanted to go to, plus I could use some caffeine," Fleur suggested.

"I will never say no to caffeine, lead the way."

Fleur wasn't lying about the cute cafe. The cafe gave off a sort of Paris cafe type of vibe. It had a whole bunch of tables set out in the street filled with couples lost in conversations over coffee. The shop was small and had a delicious smell to it. Mugs of all shapes and sizes floated in the air from tables to behind the counter and there was an assortment of metallic machines in the back spewing steam out into the ceiling of the room.

"You wanna go grab us a table and I'll grab the drinks?" Fleur asked.

"Okay, three sugar and no cream in mine please." Hermione said before she found a table outside in the shade of the cafe building and sat down.

If you didn't already know that this was a wizarding town, aside from the teacups floating in midair, it would be hard to tell. Most of the people there were wearing normal looking clothes that looked almost like something muggles would wear. Even the people themselves looked more like muggles than wizards. None of them had wands out or crazy creatures flying about. The only wizarding thing any of them had was the paper with moving pictures. Seeing the paper she scanned around until she found a rack just outside the cafe door with papers on it. She made her way over to it and took a sickle from her pocket and dropped in the jar and took out one of the papers.

When she sat back down at their table she unfolded the paper and took a look at the front page.

 _ **Death Again!**_

 _Minister Weber has received confirmation from British Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, that there was another attack by the group called Death Eaters in the town of Little Hangleton two nights ago. The Escaped German prisoner, Manuel Ulreich, was identified by British aurors to be a part of the group that made the attack._

 _This reporter was told that the attack was done in the shroud of a rainy night and that the British Ministry is still unsure of why the town was attacked. No bodies were discovered at the scene of the attack and there have been no reports from the muggles of the town of anything stolen either. Had it not been for an auror stationed in the town sighting the death eaters the Ministry may have never learned of the event._

 _Minister Weber has told German magical citizens again that these attacks have little impact on the safety of the German wizarding community. However, Readers will remember that Manuel Ulreich was serving a life sentence in Munich Prison for selling illegal potions to questionable groups before he was broken out in a prison attack back in October of last year. At the time of his arrest, Manuel Ulreich, was known as one of Germany's top potion brewers and both ministries warn all citizens to take caution when buying potions and to not accept any unknown substances from anyone._

 _What a renown German brewer is doing with the Death Eaters in Britain remains to be seen; along with what the death eaters were up to in Little Hangleton. All we can do for now is keep our wands ready and our eyes searching. Please make a report if you see anything or anyone that looks suspicious._

"Here you are, three sugars and no cream." Fleur interrupted her daze and set her coffee down on the table. "What's the news say?"

"There was another attack a few nights ago in Britain apparently." She took a big sip from her coffee.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Was it anyone you knew?"

"Actually, the paper said no one was killed, so it sounds like either the death eaters weren't there to kill someone, or they got out of there before they could." Her mind was already racing with hundreds of possible explanations for what she had read in the paper.

Although the attacks had died down substantially since the attack on Hogwarts last year, there still seemed to be a random attack pop up in the paper every so often. Even though she promised Harry she wouldn't overthink and worry about Voldemort and death eater attacks she still always kept a close eye on the attacks, just to be on the safe side. The fact that no had been killed in this last attack did not sit well in her stomach. The death eaters always killed wherever they went, not killing meant they were probably up to something. And whatever that something might be, it worried her to death that it had to do with Harry.

"Well no dwelling on dark thoughts today! Today is relax and have fun day!" Fleur said with a smile, once again pulling her from her train of thought.

"Right. So-" she stammered, "do you know at least what type of gift you want to get Marik?"

"I have absolutely no idea! What types of gifts have you given him for Christmas or his brithday?"

"Uhhh books mostly, I think I got him a scarf once too," she answered. To be honest Alina had helped Hermione get Marik his gifts the past few times they had to buy him something.

"Well he does look good in scarves, but winter is over so hmm. . . Maybe something different, but what?" Fleur scratched her chin as she thought.

"I still don't get why you want to buy him something," she admitted again.

"So you're telling me that you have never wanted to do something for Harry just because?" Fleur asked, one of her brows arched.

"Well, I mean yeah I guess, but that's different."

"How is it different?"

"Well because me and Harry are in love," she practically blurted out the _L_ word. It never got less embarrassing admitting that she was in love with Harry. Fleur didn't say anything in response, but just averted her eyes as she took another sip from her mug. "Wait. . . Fleur are you telling me that you lov. . ."

"SHHH!" Fleur practically jumped across the table to put her finger over Hermione's mouth.

"Well are you?" Hermione whispered, even though there really wasn't anyone without hearing distance from them .

"I don't know! I've never been in a relationship like this one before! I have only ever dated one guy before Marik and it was only because my mother practically forced me to. All he did was talk about himself the entire time and I never really cared for him at all. After two dates I just started ignoring all of his owls until he stopped writing.

"With Marik though, as soon as I wake up in the morning I want to go hangout with him and as soon as I'm away from him my first thought is always 'I wonder what Marik's doing now'. I'm sure you have been able to tell that since I am practically with your group all day everyday now. I just. . . I don't know how to say it! Ughh! I just want to buy him something today to, you know, to say thank you to him, and show him how much I value him. Does that make sense? God I must sound like a crazy person," Fleur ranted, her cheeks flushing as she did.

"No, you actually don't sound crazy at all. I totally get what you are saying and it makes perfect sense to me. I think you should tell him that too and not just get him something. I think he would like to hear that from you more than any gift you could get him," she insisted.

"I don't think I'm ready to tell him anything yet. I don't want things to change you know? These past few months have been some of the best of my life. I'm just so happy right now I don't want to ruin things. Plus I don't even know what I'm exactly telling him really either," Fleur admitted.

"Well let's start with the gift for now then. We can talk about you confessing your lo. . ."

"SHH!" Fleur spilled a bit of her coffee as she jumped across the table to quiet Hermione again. Hermione giggled at her friend. It was rare you got to see someone as composed and put together as Fleur normally always was flustered like this.

"Alright fine, I'll stop! I still find it a little hard to believe that someone like you has only had one boyfriend, or could have trouble with relationship stuff at all," she confessed.

"Are you calling me a slut Miss. Granger?"

"Oh shut up, you know I'm not. I just mean, well you're hot! Before I got to know you I figured you had boys all over you all the time. It's just hard to believe you would get flustered with this stuff."

"Did you just call me hot? I'm sorry Hermione but I'm seeing someone, although I'm sure Marik and Harry would jump at the idea of us together. I wouldn't have to get Marik a gift in that case too, hmm . . ." Fleur quipped.

"Oh shut it Fleur! I was being serious!" she laughed.

"I'm sorry! And Hermione you are hot too. I guarantee if you weren't with Harry the boy's would be all over you too."

"I doubt it."

"Doubt it all you want, I know I'm right. Now let's go window shop for ideas; I'm not going to be able to think of something just sitting here," Fleur ordered and stood up from their table. Hermione took one more sip from her coffee before picking it up and following Fleur's lead.

"So are you thinking something big like 'here Marik I bought you an owl,' or something small like 'here Marik I bought you your favorite jelly beans'?" she asked in her best Fleur impression.

"First off, I do not sound like that. Secondly, I really have no idea. What would you buy Harry if you were getting him something?"

"Uhhh I don't know! Harry really likes wearing sweaters and hoodies all the time so I would probably get him one of those; or maybe a new tie, he mentioned the other day that he is running out of good ties." It was hard to think of gift ideas for Harry. She usually had Alina help her narrow down her ideas with Harry too.

"Why don't you get him one then?" Fleur asked as her as they passed another store window. Fleur stopped and peered inside.

"What?"

"Why don't you get Harry a tie, sweater, or hoodie then. We are in the middle of a shopping town and you do love him," Fleur answered her and turned to head in another shop.

"I guess I could," she stuttered. She had not planned on buying Harry anything before"I guess I can't let you show up with a gift for Marik and me have nothing for Harry. I would look like a bad girlfriend! Hey, why are we going in there?" she asked as she followed Fleur into the strong smelling shop.

"I thought of a gift idea for Marik."

"Hello ladies. May I help you find anything today?" the male store clerk behind the counter asked them as they entered the shop. From the aroma of the stores and the stock on display the shop seemed to be selling a variety of spices, coffee beans, tea leaves, and a number of other odds and bits.

"Yes actually. I'm looking to buy a gift for someone who is a big tea person. I honestly know nothing about tea so I don't really know what I'm looking for," Fleur answered.

"Well do you know what types they like?"

"Uhhh, honestly no. Do you have anything Egyptian though? Or is there even such thing as Egyptian tea." Fleur asked the store clerk who chuckled at Fleur's question.

"I thought you said you had an idea," she sassed towards Fleur.

"I do have an idea you jerk! Marik has gotten really into Egyptian magical history over the past few months. He told me on one of our first dates that your spell creations professor at Hogwarts had him doing a bunch of research on ancient spell creators. He stumbled on a book about a famous Egyptian King who was known for his spell creations and runes and that's what gave him the idea for his ancient Egyptian runes end of year project. He is always drinking tea and always talking about Egypt now, so I figured I would try to combine the two!" Fleur ranted.

"It sounds like a very thoughtful gift-" the clerk interjected, "and you will be happy to know that Egypt is actually very famous for their tea and we do have some very good saiidi tea in stock. Give me one minute and I'll bring some up front for you. Do you want a small, medium, or large bag?" the store clerk asked Fleur.

"Medium please," Fleur bellowed as the store clerk disappeared into the back of the store for a brief moment and shortly returned with a fairly large sack.

"Here you are, one medium sack of saiidi tea. That will be one galleon, four knuts." Fleur handed the coins over to the store clerk and practically skipped out of the store, looking obviously happy with her gift idea.

"Alright, mission one accomplished. Let's go find Harry's gift now!" Fleur insisted and once again was pulling her down the street.

The first men's clothing shop they entered was a little, well, too dark for their tastes. After quickly leaving that store and the creepy store clerk behind they eventually found a much nicer shop. Inside Hermione quickly found a warm, soft jacket that she was sure Harry would love. She thought it was cozy as could be and since she stole practically all of Harry's sweaters and jackets if she liked it she was sure he would let her wear it to. Plus the jacket had a cat logo on it that kind of looked like Harry did in his _animagus_ form, which was icing on the cake.

"Thank you for bringing me here today Fleur. You were right, I did need this," she confessed as they exited the shop. She reached her arms up into the sky as she stretched. Shopping really drained you.

"Your welcome. Now what do you say we head back now? I'm sure Harry and Marik are going nuts without being with us for this long," Fleur laughed.

"Yeah, let's go."

The ride back to the castle was just as fun as their time in Anklam had been. Hanging out with Fleur was so much fun and the two of them could seemingly talk for hours. They had been in a particular interesting conversation when the carriages came to a stop. They begrudgingly put their conversation to a halt as they exited the carriage and headed into the castle, where they quickly made their way back up to their study room.

"Well if it isn't the two slackers. How was girl's day?" Harry asked them as they entered the room.

"It was amazing," she answered and gave Harry a kiss on the lips, which seemed to catch him off guard.

"We had a blast," Hermione heard Fleur say from the other side of the desk, but was too caught up in her kiss with Harry to add anything else.

"I got you something," she finally told Harry after a few more blissful seconds of kissing.

"You did? And what did I do to deserve this?" Harry asked her. A cute grin plastered on his face and his cheeks red from the spontaneous kiss.

"Everything." Was all she said as she handed him the bag and anxiously waited for him to open it.

"A new hoodie! Thanks Hermione," Harry blurted out and before she could say _polyjuice_ he had her in another kiss.

"Do you like it?" she asked him after another few moments of kisses.

"I love it. Idiot over there spilled a potion on my favorite one two nights ago so I really needed another." Hermione turned to see Marik excitedly looking over the gift Fleur had given him with a big grin.

"Well good, I'm glad. I love you Harry."

"I love you Hermione," Harry whispered and pulled her back into his lips for another passionate kiss.

"When you two lovebirds are done tongue wrestling let me know if you wanna go to the dining hall with me, I'm starving," Marik bellowed from the other side of the table. With blushing cheeks Hermione pulled her lips off of Harry's.

"I'm game. I need a break anyways," Harry replied and stood up from the table. Hermione smiled as he immediately put his new jacket on."You coming Hermione?" Harry turned to ask her.

"Actually, I'm going to stay here. I came up with a solution to my trouble with my math while we were gone. I think I can make a lot of progress tonight and don't wanna ruin my momentum."

"Alright, then. I'll come back after we eat then to help you. You coming Fleur?" Harry asked again.

"I'm gonna stay with Hermione, you boys have fun though," Fleur answered.

"Guess it's time for boy's night out then. Alrighty, see you ladies later," Marik called out and waved goodbye as he left the room.

"Bye," she and Fleur replied in unison as the boys left and closed the door behind them.

"Ughh!" Fleur groaned and dropped her head onto the table with a thud.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a little surprised by the sudden thud.

"I was so close! But I bitched out at the last second," Fleur groaned again.

"So close to what?"

"To telling him how I feel! He kissed me and I was all caught up in the moment and thinking about you telling me tell him. I started to tell him I love him and ended up telling him that I love the weather this time of year when I got scared. Teach me how you do it!" Fleur pleaded, her cheeks a full red blush. Hermione couldn't help but burst out into laughter. "It isn't funny Hermione!" Fleur roared, her cheeks only getting redder.

"Yes it is!" Hermione barely managed to get out through laughter.

"I hate you!" Fleur cried.

"Oh don't lie, you _love_ me!" she teased.

"You are dead!" Fleur growled and threw a quill towards her.

"Alright, alright I'm sorry! Let's do a quick game plan on helping you tell Marik and then I'm gonna get some work done."

"Thank you Hermione!" Fleur replied.

"It's the least I can do for a friend and to repay you for all you did for me today. Now . . ."

* * *

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	61. Book4: Chapter 15

**Harry**

 _ **A Champion's Kiss**_

 _With the third and final task of the Triwizards Tournament looming in the very near future you would think that the champions at Durmstrang Institute would be in full focus on preparing themselves for what we can only assume will be their greatest challenge thus far. This reporter was told that Durmstrang's three champions have all been spending at least five hours everyday after their classes in intense training and Beauxbatons' champions have been doing much the same. However, the same can not be said for the three champions of Hogwarts._

 _In my most recent trip to Durmstrang Institute, I found Hogwarts' Champions Hermione Granger and Harry Potter not in a classroom preparing for the final task, but instead out on the grounds engaged in quite the provocative display of P.D.A.. After asking a plethora of students throughout the castle this reporter learned that the scene I witnessed is in fact quite the norm and that the two love-struck champions spend most of their days like this. One student told me that Potter and Granger have even skipped classes to spend more time alone together._

 _Those at home rooting for Hogwarts in this year's tournament might feel that they now have to put all of their hopes on Hogwart's third champion, Marik Ose, to carry the load on his shoulders. However, this reporter has seen first hand that he is no better off than his two other champions. As my loyal readers will know it has been well known that Marik Ose has been unsuccessfully chasing after Beauxbaton's champion, Fleur Delacour, since the start of the tournament. Instead of preparing for the final task this reporter only saw Hogwart's third champion swooning after the French champion down the hallways of the castle._

 _Will Hogwarts' two lovebirds relationship get in the way of winning the final task? Will Marik finally get the message that Miss Delacour is not interested in time? It remains to be seen if the Hogwarts team will get themselves into gear by the time the tournament starts. For now it seems that impossible love and kissing appears to be higher on their priority list. Keep an eye out for my next article in which we will take another look at the champions and how they have been progressing before the final task._

"Hey don't crumple that, I still wanted to read it!" Marik bellowed from the other side of the table and pulled the copy of the _Daily Prophet_ out of his hands.

"How is it that she could possibly still have a job and readers who actually believe what she writes? Seriously!" he blurted, his fist gripping his cereal spoon tighter out of annoyance and anger.

"Who knows. Probably because the ministry is ass-backwards. I'm sure there are just as many backwards readers out there too," Hermione answered bluntly.

"I have not been _swooning_ after her!" Marik blurted out into the dining hall as he seemed to have finished the article. "I mean she got the P.D.A. part with you guys right, but the rest is just bullshit!"

"We do not kiss in public that much!" Hermione argued.

"Yes you two do. It practically looks like Harry is always wearing lipstick because he is kissing you so much," Marik retorted. Both he and Hermione blushed a little at his comments.

"Well I for one am okay with that." He leaned over and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek, making it a point to make it louder than necessary. Hermione shot him one of her warm smiles in return as their lips broke apart.

"I am too, everyone else is just jealous," Hermione added and gave him a loud peck on the cheek in return.

"Yes we are all so jealous of you both. All couples should bow to the greatness of ' _Hermarry_ '," Marik quipped.

"They really should," Hermione laughed. "You both just ignore Rita Skeeter, we all know better than to let her get under our skins. Today is going to be a good day and I will not let gossip ruin it!"

"Yeah, yeah just pass the syrup would ya," Marik replied and tossed the copy of the Daily Prophet aside.

Hopefully today would end up being a good day just as Hermione said. The three of them had received word yesterday from Dumbledore that today all of the champions would be given information about the third and final task of the Triwizards Tournament. They were all hopeful that today's information would shed a little light on what the task could be and alleviate a lot of their stressing and worries.

With all of their end of year projects deadlines closing in this time of the year was already stressful enough, having to add even more countless hours trying to prepare for the third task only made things much more difficult and much more stressful.

As the month of May came to a close, thankfully, the professors had begun to allow all of the students more time outside of classes to do work on their own. He and Marik had even started only attending the absolute necessary classes to create more time for their work and studies. Hermione, however, the perfect student that she was, refused to skip any classes and was only willing to sacrifice sleep in order to give herself more needed time for her work, which as a result had led to the bags under eyes growing larger and larger with each passing day. Hermione refused to slack off at all, though, and to be honest he and Marik couldn't really argue with her, they were doing the same thing after all.

Time was short and all of their priorities were the same. They were all still aiming to win the Triwizards' Tournament and at the same time were all aiming for top marks in their classes. Goals like these meant that sacrifices like missing a little sleep had to be made. As much as the constant work sucked and the idea of sleeping in their beds became that much more intoxicating in the late hours of the night they were all up for the challenge and had been moving forward at a good pace.

Even though Hogwarts was going into the final task in second place, Harry was confident that they could still win the tournament. They had kept up with the other two teams' pace throughout the first two tasks and there was no reason for why they couldn't do the same in the third task. The tournament he was confident about, when it came to end of year projects, however, he was still a little unsure of how confident he should be.

To be honest, outside of Hermione and Marik, Harry had zero information on how the rest of their year was progressing with their projects. Normally they heard all sorts of gossip and rumors about who was working on what that gave them some sort of picture of where their projects stacked up with the rest of their class. However, since they were here at Durmstrang while the majority of their class was back at Hogwarts, they were missing out on all the information, which did not help to calm their worries of what the competition might be.

Information or no information Harry was still fairly confident in all of his projects this year. This had been the first year going into June where he was nearly already finished with all of his projects. Normally his transfiguration projects consumed most of his time this late in the year, but he had finished adding the second wing to his ritual a while ago now and could consistently summon both wings with ease, though, using them for flight was still a long ways off in the future. With his transfiguration project out of the way early on he had been able to put much more of his time into his other projects, which hopefully would pay off for him in the end.

This year the majority of his time had gone into his charms, spell creations, and dark arts projects, which he would be combining this year through all of his work with mind magics. Mind magic was tough, no doubt the most difficult field of magic he had ever set out to learn, even surpassing _animagus_ magic. Since the summer before his second year, when he had first started researching the topic, his progress with mind magics had been slow, very slow. It had taken him forever to learn how to do something as simple as whispering words into someone's head and even longer to create hallucinations.

Practically all of his summer and first half of this year had been spent organizing his mind and learning to understand and navigate through his own thoughts, which without doing so would be impossible to progress any further into the field. Finally, though, all of his dedication and hard work on mind magics was paying off. This year he would be presenting three different spells to his professors that he had worked on for his charms and dark arts end of year project, and any of the three he felt were difficult enough to help him earn top marks, hopefully.

The first spell he had mastered this year was a very old spell that had gone out of practice in the legilimency field. The spell, _legobarodo_ , allowed the caster to briefly enter the targets mind, specifically the part of the mind that organizes one's thoughts. Once the spell was cast and the caster was inside the target's mind, the caster can overload that particular part of the mind alone, causing the target's mind to be flooded with an endless stream of disorganized thoughts until the spell is lifted.

The _legobarodo_ spell used to be categorized as dark magic due to its use by a witch named Claudia Combes in the First Wizarding War. Claudia Combes, a supporter of Grindelwald, was the most well-known and published legilimens at the time and was known to commonly use this spell in the war against her enemies. She would hold the spell open for so long that she would literally break the minds of her enemies, causing her targets to have no control over their thoughts for the rest of their lives.

Over the years, though, the spell had eventually been knocked off the forbidden spells list, Harry guessed mainly due to the lack of practicing legilimens in the world and the rarity of able casters of the spell. The _legobarodo_ spell could be a game changer in any duel and Harry felt was an essential spell for him to master if he wanted to become a master occlumens and legilimens. Each of his uses of the spell in practice duels had only proven this point to him more.

He had used the spell in a duel with Marik multiple times now, and each time the spell had lead him to a victory. Even with his prowess as the best duelist of their group, Marik was rendered practically useless each time he was hit with the _legobarodo_ spell, his mind and thoughts much too chaotic to make any rational or organized decisions. Harry obviously wasn't frying Marik's mind like Claudia Combes had done with her enemies; Harry was just barely entering his target's mind, holding the spell open long enough to send a large stream of distracting thoughts that gave him just enough time to knock the target out quickly with another spell.

Both of the other two spells he had managed to master this year were just as big of game changers as the _legobarodo_ spell was too. The _legidisco_ was a spell of his own creations. Upon casting the _legidisco_ spell, the target would forget the action or spell they were currently performing, or just about to do, until the spell was lifted. Again, just like with the _legobarodo_ spell, he was only barely entering the mind of his target with the _legidisco_ spell. In this case, instead of targeting the thought area of the mind he was targeting the memory section of the mind and placing a temporary barrier on a portion of it.

In his usage of the spell in practice duels the _legidisco_ spell was an extraordinary way to defend oneself and move on from the defensive to offensive. For example, in his last duel with Marik, Marik had been driving him into a corner with his shadow magic and just as Marik had raised his wand to end the duel with a final spell Harry cast the _legidisco_ spell, causing Marik to temporarily forget what spell he was just about to cast. The momentarily forgetfulness gave Harry the opening to start an attack and quickly changed the course of the duel along with the eventual outcome.

In a pinch, or if an attack from a dark arts user every happened again, the _legidisco_ spell would come in handy in making them forget any deadly spells that could potentially harm his friends; which was the main reason he was confident the spell would give him a very high dark arts mark.

The last mind magic spell he had managed to master was another one of his own creations, though he owed the inspiration of the spell largely to Hermione. The spell, _legilacordus,_ created a temporary memory of himself inside his target's mind until either hit with a spell or the spell was lifted. So in the case of a duel if someone was throwing a spell at him he could create a temporary memory of himself in spot A and move on to a different location. His target would still see the memory of him in spot A however and attack it, which allowed him to, one, not be hit by their spell and, two, get an advantageous position on them.

Hermione had a time-magic spell that held sort of the same principals. In Hermione's time-magic spell she moved herself or the target to a position they either had just been in or would be in, in the near future. Harry's _legilacordus_ spell had the same ideas to it, only instead of dealing with time his spell dealt with memories.

All in all Harry had done amazing work with his mind magic this year and these three spells alone would allow him to branch into much more complex areas of the field of mind magics. He was proud of the progress he had made, but was still nervous that the professors would not be as impressed with his work as he was with it himself. More so than just being happy for potential good marks, he was happy that the rest of the year the majority of his time could be spent focusing on the tournament and he no longer had to feel guilty neglecting his classes to prepare.

"So besides the, lovely, article about me and Harry's love life was their anything else in the _Prophet_?" Hermione asked he and Marik.

"Not really," Harry answered. He dipped his spoon into his cereal bowl and took another bite.

"No there wasn't anything too good. You guys remember Vincent Crabbe, the fatter Malfoy goonie?" Marik asked them.

"Yeah, why?" he answered.

"There was one small article that mentioned his dad. Apparently his dad just got promoted to a pretty high position in the Improper Use of Magic Office. Hard to believe someone successful enough to be in that high of a position has a son that stupid."

"Was it Crabbe or Goyle who got banned from transfiguration class for failing?" Hermione asked Marik.

"Crabbe got banned for failing transfiguration. Goyle got banned from potions, which was pretty ironic since he is a Slytherin. Nothing worse than getting banned by your Head of House."

"God I can't imagine being banned from a class. Even though my parents don't even know what half my classes are they would still kill me." Hermione shivered at the thought of her parents finding out she had failed a course.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my mother would kill me with guilt alone if I got banned from a class," he added, joining Hermione in the shivering at the thought.

"Well I don't think we will ever have to worry about that. Well me and Harry at least, Hermione I'm still not too sure about." Marik joked. If something had been within throwing distance to Hermione he was confident Marik would have been pelted.

"You are so funny Marik! I forget why I ever became your friend," Hermione quipped.

"Marik I think your _befriend_ potion is wearing off!" Harry joked.

"Look's like it, Harry abort plan ' _befriend the smart girl to steal all her good notes'_ until further notice," Marik whispered.

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind them, interrupting their joking. Harry turned to see Alina's boyfriend, Dedrick standing behind them.

"Well look who it is. Come to threaten me again?" Marik questioned, his eyebrow raised as if to taunt Dedrick.

"Not now Ose. Have any of you seen Alina today? She's been acting really weird this week and she got really mad at me for no reason yesterday morning and I haven't been able to find her since."

"For no reason huh, yeah I bet," Marik Murmured.

"Shut it you. Just answer the damn question. Have you, or have you not seen her?"

"I haven't today no. I saw her briefly before I turned in last night though in her room. I wouldn't worry too much Dedrick, you know how Alina gets sometimes. I'm sure whatever is upsetting her will blow over soon," Hermione assured Dedrick.

"Yeah, thanks. It's just about time to go to the champions' tent by the way. Don't be late. I don't want Durmstrang winning because of a technicality." Dedrick turned and left their table.

"Would be the only way Durmstrang would win. He's right though, we should go ahead and head down their." Marik insisted and stood up from the table.

"Yeah, let's go," he added, following Marik's lead.

They were the first team to arrive at the champions tent and as per usual found their seats in the Hogwarts corner while they waited for everyone else to arrive. Durmstrang's champions showed up shortly after they did and Beauxbatons a few minutes later. The tent was quieter and calmer today than usual. Harry guessed that was mainly because everyone there wasn't stressed about having to actually perform well in a task today. The mood could change quickly though and they all might end up being stressed though after hearing what information the Headmasters had to give them.

After a few more minutes of waiting in the calm silence of the tent, the large entrance flap parted and the three Headmasters made their ways inside. Durmstrang's Headmaster made his way to the center of the room and called all of the champions over to him.

"Thank you all for coming here today. In the first task your quick-thinking, strategy-making, power, and abilities were put on full display for all to see. In the second task your teamwork, focus, and knowledge were challenged as you partook in a number of difficult and complex puzzles. In both of these tasks you showed the world what the three champions of each school are capable of achieving together as a single unit and a collaborative mind.

"In the first two tasks you have proven to everyone watching that as a collective group you are all able to climb the highest of mountains and defeat the fiercest of foes. In the third task, however, things will be different than they were in the first two tasks. In the final task you will have the opportunity to show the world what you are capable of achieving on your own." A few whispered murmurs could be heard from the other schools' champions following the Headmaster's words.

"In the first and second task you were only told what the task would entail minutes before the task took place. For the final task, however, we will be telling you what you will be up against today." Harry saw Hermione's eyes go wide at this; his probably did the same, it was hard to believe that they were going to find out what the final task was today.

"That means that you will have over a month to ready yourselves. However, simply being told what the future task will hold for you today is not just a gift, but also a test itself. Each of you will have a month to prepare yourselves for the final task, how well you do in the task will depend on how good each of you are at utilizing your time over this next month.

"At the start of the third task each of you will be separated from your teammates and you will find yourself waking up alone in a random part of a very large castle. The castle in this task will be a mock-up of all three of the host schools' castles. Some of you will wake up in Beauxbatons, others in Hogwarts, and some in Durmstrang. All three castles will be connected to one another, so you will be able to move freely from one castle to another throughout the entire task if you choose to do so or remain in the castle you were placed in. The choice is entirely up to you.

"The castle, minus one or two rooms, is an exact replica of the three schools, however, what you find among the many familiar hallways and rooms may be different than what you are used to. You will have only one goal in the final task. . . _survive_. Your only mission is to eliminate all of the other teams' champions. Once only members from a single school remain standing will the task be finished.

"Only one member from a school is needed to win the task, so even if all other champions from your team have been eliminated, you still have a chance to win the task by being the last champion standing. Although you will start off the third task alone, teamwork is allowed; you may look to find your partners if you choose to do so and work together to complete the task. Again, the choice is up to you.

"In regards to points for the final task, two points will be awarded to your school for every opponent that you knock out and five points will be awarded to the school with the last champion standing. Unlike in the first two tasks, no points will be given to you by us Headmasters, but instead all of the points you earn will simply just be added to your current scores.

"Each team has the opportunity to win the Triwizards Cup here and we expect you all to give everything in this final task. How well you do and where your school finishes in the rankings is entirely up to you from this point on. Good luck." And with that the three Headmasters turned and left the champions' tent before any of them could so much as blink, let alone ask any questions.

Harry repeated the words of Headmaster Karkaroff again in his head, making sure he remembered everything with clarity. They had come to the champions' tent today just expecting to get some clues about the task. It was hard to digest that they now new exactly what they were up against _and_ had an entire month to prepare for it.

"Good luck, everyone," Beauxbatons, Weiss Marceau broke the silence of the tent as she and the rest of the French team exited the tent. Durmstrang's team followed the French team's exit shortly after.

"Well I did not expect that much info," he croaked out into the tent as the other teams disappeared.

"Yeah, so much for just getting a few clues. We know everything now!" Marik added.

"Not everything. There is no way the task is going to be just that simple and you both heard Headmaster Karkaroff say that what we find in the familiar hallways may be different. There is definitely going to be a twist to this task and honestly I think telling us what the task would be was really just a clue in itself," Hermione explained.

"Well regardless of what the twist is we should feel confident going into this task. We are all great duelists and this task is centered around dueling," Marik said.

"Yeah, that part does alleviate some of the stress. We obviously should put this memory in my pocket pensive and examine all of the Headmaster's words again to check if their are any more hints hidden there," he chimed.

"I agree for sure. And I think going back and watching the first two tasks from the other school's perspectives again and making a list of every spell we see them cast would benefit us a lot too. That way we make sure we are least able to predict some of what we might be up against," Hermione added.

"We should see if we can get any maps of Beauxbatons too. We can explore Durmstrang a lot more over the month and we already know Hogwarts well enough," said Marik.

"Sounds like we have a lot of work ahead of us." Hermione grinned.

"Seems so. Everyone ready to get started?" he asked them both and received two confident nods and grins. "Well let's get going."

The three of them left the champions' tent and headed back up towards the castle. He could sense the change in the mood around them now and could almost feel the motivation in the air. They had all been very aware beforehand that they final task was nearing closer, but after being told about the task it felt much realer and the sense of urgency had increased tenfold.

"Harry, isn't that your uncle Sirius, and your aunt Hemera?" Hermione stopped walking a few feet in front of them and pointed up the hill a ways. Harry followed her finger. Sure enough, walking at a brisk pace was his aunt and uncle. _Why the hell were they here at Durmstrang?_

"Sirius! Hemera!" he shouted across the grounds and immediately began running up the hill towards them. "What are you both doing here?" he asked, his voice a little out of breath as he made it to where they were.

"Alina is in the hospital wing," Sirius answered, his voice sounding hoarse. "You three didn't know?"

"No. . . we didn't," Harry whispered. Alina was in the hospital wing? Why? What had happened to her?

"What happened to her?" Marik asked Sirius and Hemera.

"I'm sorry, we can talk about it later. Right now we just want to see our daughter." Hemera answered Marik and immediately headed into the castle, Sirius following right behind her.

Without hesitation the three of them followed them and made their way up to the hospital wing of Durmstrang. Sirius and Hemera quickly made their way into the hospital wing but they were forced by the attending doctor to wait outside upon their arrival. They all grabbed a seat on the bench outside the large wooden doors.

"What the hell do you think happened?" Marik asked the group.

"I have no idea. Hermione, you said you saw her last night right? Did something seem wrong with her then?" he turned and asked her.

"I didn't really notice anything. She looked tired maybe but other than that I didn't see anything. I was only in their to drop of a book real quick though. Have you guys noticed anything with her recently?"

"I haven't seen her recently. Last time I saw her was probably over a week ago in the dining hall. I used to always see her in the practice room but she never seems to show up anymore," Marik answered.

"Yeah, I honestly haven't seen her too much recently either. I had lunch with her a few days ago but I was so busy with my projects we didn't really talk much," he added, feeling a little guilty at realising he hadn't seen her in that long.

"Hmm, well I'm sure she will be okay. Knowing Alina she probably pulled one too many all nighters stressing about her end of year projects or something," Hermione said with a faint smile.

The three of them waited outside of the hospital wing for a few hours before the doors opened and they were allowed to enter. A majority of the beds inside the large room were empty and it was easy to find Sirius and Hemera beside Alina's bed. Even from the entrance to the room Harry could tell that Alina looked pale. Her normally tan skin looked drained and the bags under her eyes were pitch black. They made their way over to Alina's bedside and pulled up three nearby chairs.

"Try and be quiet if you can. The doctor gave her a _sleeping draught_ before we arrived," Hemera whispered. As drained and exhausted as Alina's body looked she did look currently to be in some peace as she slept there.

"What happened?" he asked them.

"We still don't really know the whole story ourselves. The doctor told us that Alina's roommate carried her in here early this morning, saying that Alina had been having trouble sleeping for a while now and that she had passed out from exhaustion," Sirius answered.

"Did the three of you know that she was having trouble sleeping, or when her troubles started?" Hemera asked them.

"No, we didn't," Harry answered, feeling guilty again. He had no idea that Alina had been struggling to sleep.

"Do you know why she was having trouble sleeping all of the sudden? Was it stress with her end of year projects or something?" Hermione asked.

"Her roommate told the doctor that Alina had been having nightmares frequently, right now that's all we can assume has been causing the lack of sleep," Sirius replied.

For a while they all stayed by Alina's bedside, watching her sleep peacefully and the wear on her body disappear slightly. Eventually it seemed that the _sleeping draught_ was wearing off and Alina's eyes slowly began to open.

"Ughh where am I? Dad? Mom? What are you doing here?" Alina croaked. Alina's hands starting rubbing her eyes aggressively as if to make sure what she was seeing was real.

"You haven't been sleeping Alina. You passed out in your room and your roommate had to carry you to the hospital wing. Alina, have you been having nightmares?" Sirius asked his daughter.

"Guys? What are you doing here too?" Alina ignored her father's question and turned to them, her cheeks getting a little flushed.

"Alina darling. Please tell us what has been going on," Hemera insisted.

"Nothing has been going on. I'm fine. I just have had a few bad dreams and haven't been able to sleep as much as normal. I feel fine now, really," Alina argued.

"You don't look fine," Marik interjected bluntly.

"Well thanks assho. . ."

"Alina watch your mouth!" her mother shouted.

"Sorry mom," Alina apologized.

"Your friend is right Alina. You don't look fine, and not being able to sleep is not fine. This is not fine. Talk to us," Sirius pleaded.

"I just. . . It's just. . . I'm so tired." The dams holding Alina together seemed to break at that moment. A full stream of tears poured from the corners of her eyes and began dotting the white sheets of her bed with wet marks. Sirius and Hemera rose from their seats and wrapped themselves around their daughter. It was painful to see her looking like that.

"What do you need baby? What can we do for you to help you?" Sirius whispered into Alina's ears as Alina's cries grew louder and tearful wails echoed through the hospital wing.

"I h-hate i-t-t here. I j-just w-want to g-go home!" Alina cried out.

"We can do that darling. We can take you home for a while until you feel better and then you can come back when you are ready," Hemera hushed Alina.

"NO! I d-dont want t-to come b-back! I hate D-Durmstrang! I w-want t-to j-just go home!" Alina wailed through gasps of tears.

"What?" the three of them on their side of Alina's bed said in unison.

"Go a-away!" Alina turned and yelled at them through more tears. "Take m-me h-home!"

"Alina, we just want to be here for you, and make sure that you are okay," Hermione replied.

"No you d-don't! G-go a-away!" Alina shouted again, more tears falling from her eyes.

"Alina-" Marik started.

"Get out! Get out!" Alina screamed again.

"Maybe you three should just give us some time," Hemera said and motioned them to the door.

"Yeah, okay." Hermione whispered, looking on the verge of tears.

"Sorry, get better Alina," Harry muttered as they unwillingly followed Hemera's orders and they left the hospital wing and painfully left their wailing friend behind.

* * *

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	62. Book4: Chapter 16

**Alina**

"Alina it's me, may I come in?" her father asked from the hallway between soft rappings on her door.

"It's unlocked," she called out from her bed, setting the book on advanced ancient runes aside on her nightstand. Her father opened the door to her bedroom cautiously, scared that she might run away like a startled deer if he moved too quickly. "You don't have to look so scared and worried about me dad. I told you and mom a hundred times that I'm fine now. Being home for a few days really helped."

"But I am scared and worried about you Alina."

"Why, though? I told you that I am fine!"

"You've said you are fine so many times that you don't even know what the word means anymore Alina. I am your father and I am always scared and worried about you. I wouldn't be a good father if I didn't worry. Here," he handed her a piece of parchment. "Your reply from Dumbledore." She took the letter from him and looked it over.

 _Dear Miss Alina Black,_

 _While I was most saddened to hear that you have been struggling at Durmstrang and no longer wish to attend the remainder of this school year there, I of course will accept your wish to return to Hogwarts. I am certain that the professors will be most happy to have you back into their classrooms and that the school will be a much warmer place with you there once again. The health and wellbeing of our students is of most importance to those of us at Hogwarts and we want what is best for our students; so if there is anything else you need please do not hesitate to ask. We look forward to seeing you this coming week and I will make sure personally that all of your things will be moved back to your old room awaiting your arrival._

 _I am, yours most sincerely,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

"You really sure you don't want to go back to Durmstrang and be with your friends?" her father asked her as she finished reading Dumbledore's letter over, his face still full of worry.

"I'm sure. I just need a breather from everything and everyone. Just some time to focus on myself for a little while, until my head gets back on straight and everything."

"Well then, your mother and I will of course support your decision." He paused briefly and let his eyes wander around her room. It was obvious looking at him that he still had something on his mind and was struggling to say it. When his eyes met hers he smiled again and spoke. "We have a few minutes until we need to leave for your appointment so would you mind humoring your old man for a little while?"

"Of course!" she smiled and motioned for him to sit down next to her. Her father walked around her bed and plopped down on the other side of her and made himself comfy.

"You know by the time I was your age and year at Hogwarts I think my father had only come into my room maybe once growing up. And only that time because he was trying to remove the posters on my wall that he didn't like."

"Really?" she interjected. Her father rarely ever told stories about his family; but the few times he did always explained a lot about why her father was the man he was today.

"Really."

"Well knowing you they probably were very inappropriate posters," she laughed. She had heard the stories from uncle James about her father's tastes in room decorating at Hogwarts.

"Yes, yes, they probably were," her father smiled along with her. "Growing up my parents had a very different idea about what a 'family' was supposed to be than most people do. Family to them was all about obedience to your parents, the honor of your family name, the titles your name gave you, and continuing old family traditions. The Black family name was held above all else, and was even more important than the Black family members themselves. We never celebrated holidays together, there was no such thing as birthday parties, and asking one of them for help when I needed it was never an option. My parents used to tell me that Blacks were strong and needing help from others was a sign of weakness that would not be tolerated.

"For a long time I struggled with things. I had no one to talk to when life got hard and no one that was willing to listen to any of my problems. I only had myself. When life got dark all I had to keep me company was the darkness shrouded around me, and often times it drowned me. From the time I was born, my life was on a downhill trajectory and I have no doubts in my mind that had it not been for James, Remus, and Lily that I would not be laying here today with one of my perfect daughters.

"Even when we all became close friends it took a long time before I ever actually confided in them. I had been raised with the message of 'trust no one' practically embedded into my thick skull. When I finally did confide in my friends though, it felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders and that I was truly smiling for the first time.

"My problems became their problems and theirs' mine. Carrying that load together was a lot easier than holding the weight all on my own. Of course I still had some rough patches in life, everyone does. There were many a moments were the darkness crept closer towards me again, but everytime it did I knew I wasn't facing it alone.

"When I married your mother I made a promise that I would never let Daphne feel like I did growing up. When you were born I made that same promise again. That's why holidays and birthdays are so important to me and that's why I'm annoying you so much right now and hate leaving you alone when I know you are down in your own darkness. I hold my family above all else and nothing is more important to me than my family's happiness and wellbeing.

"My point with all of my ramblings Alina is that you have a family here for you. And not only that but you also have three friends, and three really good ones at that, that I know care about you. Never in your life have I seen you smile as much as the time you did when you told your mother and I about your new friends for the first time. I honestly to this day get a little jealous of how excited you look every time you open one of their letters over the holidays.

"You don't have to talk to your old man or your mother, I know sometimes we are the last people in the world you want to open up to. And I'm not saying you even have to talk to your friends. But please just know that I'm not the only one who loves you and is worried about you. And please remember that if the pressure and weight of the world gets too much to carry alone that your mother, me, and your friends are here to help carry the load with you."

Even if she had tried harder to hold back the tear that was slowing cascading down her cheek she had no doubts that she would have been unable to stop it. Nothing broke her heart more than seeing her father emotional like this. He was her pillar in life and seeing him cracked and shaken broke her quicker than anything else could. Knowing that she was the source of his pain and worries only broke her more.

"Thanks dad. I'm sorry that I make you worry sometimes," she wiped the warm tear from her cheek and pulled her father into a hug. "You are a very good dad, sometimes too good," she laughed.

"Thank you Alina," he replied, his voice full of cracks.

"And I don't want you to worry about me," she paused for a second, taking a deep breath into her lungs before forcing the next words out, "so I will talk to you, but only if you promise not to tell anyone!" she insisted.

"I promise I won't tell anyone Alina. What about your mother though? She is just as worried as I am."

"Well mom is fine, but certainly not Daphne, and no one at the school; not even my friends!"

"I can do that," he smiled at her.

"Okay, well. . ." she collected herself for a brief moment, trying to figure out a place to start and how exactly to explain things. Even she really didn't know how to make sense sometimes of all the pieces of the neverending puzzle in her head. "I love my friend Marik and I have been in love with him ever since my first year at Hogwarts," she started to say.

"Well I knew that. So has everything that has been going on with you been because of trouble with you two then?" her father interjected.

"You knew? How?" she blurted. She had only ever told Hermione and Harry that she loved Marik and they didn't even know that she still loved him.

"Of course I knew! Parents know everything," he laughed.

"Ohh. . . well then. . ." she mumbled, a little caught off guard.

"So answer my question, are your current troubles because of something going on between you and him?"

"No, well yes, but also no. Just let me explain, it's hard to say."

"Okay, tell me. I won't interrupt again."

"Before I met Marik I was alone, kind of like you were before you met Uncle James, Uncle Remus, and Aunt Lily. I had no friends my age and I felt like the only people who knew I even existed at Hogwarts were Daphne and Tom Riddle, and neither one of them actually really wanted to be my friend. I tried to make friends with other people in my house and my year, but I never really succeeded. Because of Tom Riddle, I couldn't control myself sometimes and I pushed people away from me and practically ruined my chance of ever making a friend at Hogwarts.

"Because of that I got more and more depressed the further and further into the school year I got. I was literally dying and I had no one there to help me as I slowly drowned. When I wasn't able to sleep because of Tom Riddle or didn't want to sleep because of the nightmares I started going to the Great Lake at nights to stare out into the water. I would just sit out there in the light of the moon looking at my reflection in the water for hours. I had no one else at Hogwarts to talk to so in desperation I started talking to my reflection, blaming her for all of the problems in my life. As things got worse I slowly began to not even recognize the girl looking back at me in the water and deep down I seriously believed she was a different person than I.

"That was how alone I was. That was how bad my life had become. Each night I sat by the lake I drowned a little more in the water and just when I ran out of breath Marik saved me. Marik reached out into that black, silent water and lifted me out. He gave me his air to breath. I may not have known it at the time but I fell in love with Marik that night; and I will eternally be grateful to him for pulling me out of the water and for giving me a reason to breath.

"That night by the lake I gave Marik every reason to hate me. We had never met before, he had no reason to help me, especially after I attacked him. Marik had a thousand reasons to hate me and yet he still came to my rescue again in the Chamber of Secrets. The same can be said for Harry and Hermione. I was never close to Harry growing up. We never bonded or even hung out unless we had too. I even used to think he was kind of weird. By the time I was taken into the Chamber in my first year I had only spoken once to Hermione and I would honestly have been surprised if she had even remembered my name.

"Like you said, I know I have great, amazing, incredible friends. Even with every reason to hate me Marik risked his life and saved me in the Chamber. Even when I was the one to blame for almost killing their best friend Harry and Hermione didn't hate me; instead, they all welcomed me into their circle with open arms. Even with their own injuries, problems, and school work to take care of they each set aside time to help me catch up on the lessons I missed while possessed and even helped me to get ahead. And even better than all of that they each asked me to be their friend.

"Just as you said in your story it honestly felt like the largest of weights had been lifted of my shoulders because of Marik, Hermione, and Harry. For the first time in my life I had friends. Friends I could talk to, laugh with, and struggle through life with. The remainder of that year was one of the greatest times of my life and I wished to myself a number of nights that things would never change. That life could always be this good.

"Things had to change though. It was painfully clear to almost everyone except me and Marik at the time that I was madly in love with him. Being his friend wasn't enough for me. I wanted to be his best friend. I wanted to be his everything. I wanted to be to him everything that he was to me.

"So I worked up the courage over the summer and decided that in my second year I would confess to him how I truly felt. I tried a few times, but something always seemed to come up and derail me before I could. In Hogsmeade, Bellatrix showed up and ruined our date. Then over the holidays Marik parent's were murdered and the moment obviously didn't feel right to tell him then, and then the attack on Hogwarts happened.

"When me and Harry found out the school was being attacked the very first image that came to my head was a picture of Marik. I immediately set out looking for him. I searched for what felt like forever and when I found him I was so relieved to see him alive. For a brief second I watched him dueling against Bellatrix and this time I wanted to be the one to save him; to be the one who pulled him out of the dark waters he was drowning in. He probably didn't even need my help, but I promised myself that I would stay by his side and protect him until the attacks were over. I owed him that much.

"When the attack ended me and Marik shared a moment, probably the greatest moment of my life. He truly opened up to me for the first time and he cried in my arms. The man who had saved me and had always looked to be one of the strongest, most unshakable wizard in my eyes cried in my arms and _I_ consoled him. I was there for him that night just as he had been there for me before by the Great Lake. When the crying stopped we kissed. At that moment, the second our lips touched, I knew for sure that I was not wrong; Marik was the love of my life.

"I was ready for things to be like that for an eternity and I was already beginning to get used to the idea of kissing Marik, sorry dad," she apologized, sure that the idea of his daughter kissing someone probably wasn't something he wanted to hear but he just smiled and encouraged her to continue on with her story.

"I was ready for things to continue on like that moment for an eternity, but in all the bliss someone else cried out Marik's name. I didn't know it before that night but Marik was dating Luna. He had really only kissed me out of a moment of weakness, probably just because I was there when he broke down. Luna ran up to Marik and kissed him, just like he had been kissing me seconds before. My heart broke then and everything became too much for me to handle.

"I ran back into the castle to Harry and Hermione and broke down in front of the two of them. That night I hated Marik and I hated Luna. Hated him for giving me life and then stealing it away from me. Hated Luna for having what I wanted and thought should be mine."

"The next morning I woke up and took some time to think about things. As I laid there in my bed I knew that I wanted to be the bigger person. Marik had saved my life and been my best friend ever since. He had been there for me every waking moment that I needed him. Even if I was jealous of Luna and it killed me to see them together I wanted to be there for him if he ever needed someone again. I owed him that much.

"So I promised myself that I would be there for him and let all the weight on my shoulders slide off of my skin. I put up with seeing them together and made sure that Marik knew I was there for him if he ever needed anything. Over the rest of the school year I could see that the two of them were growing much closer and it became more painful for me to watch, but still I tried to be the better person and continue to be his best friend.

"Over the summer I met Dedrick. Dedrick was funny and smart and when I met him he made me feel like I had found something I had been missing. We started talking and became closer and when he asked me out I found myself saying yes without hesitation. It only took a few weeks of being with Dedrick for me to realise the reasons why I liked him, and what that, 'something', I thought I had found really was. Dedrick was just my replacement for Marik. He was funny, sarcastic, smart, gifted, and confident. All qualities that I loved about Marik, only deep down I knew that I liked those qualities in Marik more than I did in Dedrick.

"I stayed with Dedrick though. I thought it would be good for me to date someone and focus on myself a little this year. Because of this I made the decision early on that I would continue to be with Dedrick and just see where it took me. The day I made that decision though I found out that Luna had broken up with Marik. The man I loved was single and available but I once again could not be with him.

"I thought that if me and Dedrick didn't work out that Marik would still be available. I even considered breaking up with Dedrick then and there so that I would be available for Marik. In the blink of an eye though he was all of the sudden dating Fleur and once again out of my reach. Fleur is literally the definition of perfection and is everything in a women that I am not. She is tall, blonde, sexy, beautiful, intelligent, a Triwizard Champion, and even Marik's age too. From the moment they started dating I could tell instantly that Marik liked Fleur a whole lot more than he ever liked Luna and that hurt me even more than it ever had before.

"The entire time with Luna I had tried to be the better person. I had tried my best to be there for Marik and continue to be his best friend. I couldn't do it again with Fleur though, it hurt too much and I couldn't put myself through that pain again.

"So I started putting some space between myself and Marik, only spending time with him if I had to or if everyone was there in the same room. As the tournament kicked off and the year went on though my time with Harry and Hermione grew shorter and shorter too. They had to focus on the tournament and to do that they had to be with Marik.

"Slowly because of Fleur, Marik, and the tournament I started spending a lot more time alone. Over the last two months I can count the number of hours I spent with my friends on two hands. I understand what they are doing and I can't blame them or be mad at them for it either, I too would be focusing on the tournament more than anything else had I been in their place. And I understand that me being alone isn't anyone's fault except my own.

"Even though I understood these things that still didn't help me out much. I still woke up everyday in pain and still felt almost as alone as I had back in my first year at Hogwarts. When the nightmares started things only got worse for me.

"On top of everything else going on, not being able to sleep and having dreams where you see yourself killing your best friends over and over again was obviously a little too much for me to handle. I ended up cutting myself off from everyone even more than usual, even Dedrick. I broke up with him and started barely ever leaving my room.

"When I couldn't sleep I read and when I did sleep it wasn't for long. I kept thinking that tomorrow things would be better, that tomorrow the nightmares would stop, the tournament would be over, and things would return to how I loved them. The nightmares didn't stop though and as you know I ended up collapsing from exhaustion.

"So what I'm trying to say with all of this is that a lot has been going on and a lot of things have been slowly building me up to my breaking point. My problems today have been things that I have let pile on me for a while and bring me down. My relationship with Marik, my inability to be with my best friend like old times, and my separating myself from Harry and Hermione all have driven me to the edge. The lack of sleep and the nightmares just pushed everything over that edge.

"I know you said I have people to talk to and I know my friends would have listened to me if I would have just spoken up and said something. And I know they are worried about me now after I blew up on them in the hospital wing. I just feel that right right now I need to travel on my own path for a little while and that I need to work on building my own life up a little more. I just don't want to have to rely on them for everything and that's why I want to go back to Hogwarts.

"Marik saved my life and I used him as a crutch to save me everytime things in my life got rough. I do the same thing with Harry and Hermione. Without me, Hermione, and Harry, Marik still has Fleur, the Triwizards Tournament, and his position as Dueling Master for his year. Without me and Marik, Harry has Hermione, the tournament, and all of the incredibly difficult magic he is researching. Hermione has Harry, the tournament, she has become really good friends with Fleur, and she is being asked to publish her potions research in a different magazine it seems like every week.

"My entire life is based around my friendships with them and without them I feel that I have nothing. Sure I'm a great student but besides getting great friends I haven't really achieved anything myself. I want to take the rest of this year at Hogwarts to redefine who I am and who I want to be. I want to create a solid foundation for myself so that when I have a dark day I know that I am strong enough to survive it. I want to achieve some things on my own. I know I probably sound mental and that you probably don't agree with my way of thinking but I think that it is the best thing I can do for myself right now."

"I think you are right," her father replied.

"What? You do?" she blurted out, a little caught off-guard by his words. She had not expected him to agree with her thinking.

"Yes, I do. I don't think you should continue to cut yourself off from your friends but I think spending a little time to focus on yourself is a good idea. As your father I know I'm biased and think that everything you do is the greatest of achievements but if you feel you want to achieve more on your own as your father I can only be proud of you for wanting more out of life and yourself.

"You are an amazing, talented, intelligent person who has the potential to change the world. I will stand by your side and support you in whatever it is you want to do. I want what is best for my daughter and if you are certain that this is what is best for you than I stand behind you. I just want my daughter to be happy. But Alina you must promise me something." Her father's face grew serious.

"What is that?" she asked.

"That you never let things get like this again. I know you will have some bad days and some bad weeks but never again let it go on for this long. Promise me?"

"I promise dad." she smiled and pulled him into another hug. A few more warm tears cascaded down her cheeks and dripped onto the shoulder of her father's sweater. For a while she stayed in his arms, each second of hugging him made her feel a little better.

"So what are you going to do? What does the new and improved Alina 'two-point-o' want to do?" he asked her as they broke apart from the hug.

"Well I don't really know a lot of what I want to do, I was hoping I could figure most of that out at Hogwarts. I do know a few things though that I want to work on."

"And what are those?"

"Well there is no summer dueling tournament this summer so I want to spend this free time getting ready for the next one. Winning the tournament my first two years was one of proudest moments and I want to get back to that feeling. Even though I ended up dating him I hated losing to Dedrick this summer. I love dueling and practicing my spellwork, so I want to spend a lot of time working on my dueling and spell knowledge.

"I also really want to finish my _animagus_ ritual. I'm so close to getting to be able to add my final layer and If I can get that finished this year I will have so much more free time to work on other things like more of my white-light spell creations magic or other projects. I've also been getting really good at ancient runes this year too so maybe I will try to do something with it." Her mind was racing with ideas of things she wanted to start working on.

"It sounds like you have a lot of working to do then."

"Yeah, I really do," she smiled.

"Well I think pushing yourself with your school work and magic is a great way to do things, it's the way your mother always did things when she was at Hogwarts. I want you to try and do two more things for me to, okay?"

"What?"

"You said that you ruined any chance of ever making friends at Hogwarts in your first year. I don't think that is true. People make mistakes and people grow up. I think that if you show your peers and classmates that you have changed they will welcome you into their circles just like your friends now did. I want you to accomplish everything you are talking about but I also want you have good people around you.

"Friendship is the greatest bit of magic the world will ever know. I want you to try to make some new friends at Hogwarts. That way their are always those who can give you help when you need it nearby. Can you do that for me?"

"I really don't know if anyone else there would even want to be my friend dad. But I guess I can try," she sighed.

"Thank you Alina."

"What was the second thing? You said you had two things you want me to try and do?" she asked him.

"I want you to be happy. Now come on, it's time for your appointment," her father said with a smile and got up from her bed, extending her a hand. She took his hand and pulled herself up.

"I will dad, I promise. Thanks for letting me talk to you, I feel much better now, really."

"Of course, anything for my girl."

She followed her dad down to the living room feeling a lot better than she had before. She had not planned on really ever talking to someone about everything going on in her head like she just had but she was glad that she had. Just like her dad had said, it really did feel like a massive amount of weight was lifted off her shoulders.

She was anxious now to get to work. She was serious about what she had said to her father and truly meant to redefine who she was, figure out who she really wanted to be, and achieve something of her own, something that she could be proud of. Things wouldn't be easy though, they often never were. She would have to stay true to herself if any change was to come out of this.

"Are we ready?" her mother asked as she and her father made their way into the living room.

"I believe we are," her father answered and made his way over to the fireplace. "Lead the way Alina." He handed her the jar of floo powder. She took a handful and stepped into the fireplace.

"St. Mungos!" she shouted and immediately was off. The familiar feeling of being stretched, twisted, and bended through the floo's magic took hold of her body and within a few seconds she could see her destination. She focused on her feet and just managed to make a graceful landing on the hard tile floor of St. Mungo's Wizarding Hospital, soon after both of her parents made their entrance.

"Which way?" she asked her parents as they dusted their jackets off.

"Were going to Wing C, we will be meeting with Dr. Murino again in room forty-seven," her mother answered and led them all through the hospital.

Even on a Wednesday morning the hospital was packed to the brim with patients, many of which looked to be very ill or under the effects of an odd spell. She hated being in hospitals. She was always terrified they wouldn't let her out. Luckily she was familiar with Dr. Murino and had spent a great deal of time with him during her first year at Hogwarts while she recovered from the possession so she knew she could at least trust him to let her leave here today.

The walk to Wing C was a short one, only made longer by the occasional slow patient waddling down the hallway in the way of their path. They all entered their patient room and waited patiently for the doctor to arrive. Being as anxious as she was to set forth operation: _Alina 2.0_ she cursed herself for not thinking to bring one of her books with her to read as they waited. Thankfully Dr. Murnio made his entrance after only a few minutes.

"Miss Black It's good to see you again. How are you doing today?" Dr. Murino asked her. After shaking her parents hands he quickly proceeded to start to do a standard examination of her.

"Better. I slept nine hours last night. I Probably could have slept longer but my mother knocked over a lamp in the hallway this morning and woke everyone in the house up." She laughed a little as her mother blushed and her father giggled. As talented as a witch as her mother was she had always been quite clumsy.

"I'm happy to hear that. How about dreams, did we have any?"

"Nope, at least none that I can remember. It felt like I just slept like a log," she answered honestly.

"Good, good. Now I know the taste of the _dreamless sleep potion_ is not the best but I promise that you will get used to it after awhile okay?

" Okay, it wasn't _that_ bad anyways," she lied.

"So besides just wanting you to come here to discuss if the potion was working or not I wanted to go over with your tests results and our theories with everyone."

"Your theories? I'm sorry if I sound rude but medically speaking theories does not sound too reassuring to me," her mother bluntly interjected.

"You are not being rude at all Miss Black and trust me when I say that many other doctors and myself here at St. Mungo's are looking into your daughter's situation. I even have a sleep specialist flooing in from Poland later this week to look over Alina's scans with me.

"Now, looking over your scans Alina physically there is nothing out of the ordinary. The full body and brain scan we did came back with zero results. The interview, conversations, and tests you had with our on site physciatrist also did not reveal anything that stood out, other than that you may just have overworked yourself too much at school."

"Told you," her father quipped. She just stook out her tongue at him. Everyone but Ron Weasley basically overworked themselves at Hogwarts, she was certainly not the minority there.

"The full magical scan we did however, did give us some things that stood out. Right now your body is housing a minute amount of foreign magic. It was such a small amount that we almost missed it."

"Foreign magic? What does that mean?" she asked, unsure of how to take in what Dr. Murino was saying.

"Unfortunately this is where most of what we know just becomes theories. Foreign magic in the body is something we are familiar with. Many spells like the _imperius_ curse or _confundus_ leave traces of foreign magic in their targets body. Usually though those traces of magic fade away after time though because the host's magic kills it off.

"When you came to St. Mungo's back in your first year your full magic scans revealed that you had an extreme level of foreign magic residing in your body and that your body and magic had been fighting against that foreign magic for a long period of time. Just like with the other cases of foreign magic after we treated you and you rested the foreign magic in your body disappeared.

"This is only a theory but we believe that the small foreign magic in your body is the same foreign magic from before and that it somehow survived all this time."

"You mean, you think a small amount of Voldemort's magic is still in me?" she asked.

"That is our best theory at the moment. Normally we always find foreign magic in the brain area of our scans the foreign magic we found in you however was hidden in your chest, in the small area right behind your heart, which is part of the reason we may have never noticed it before."

"What does it being there mean?" her father asked.

"To be blunt, we have no clue. We don't know how some of the foreign magic has managed to survive for so long or what that means. We also don't know how or why the magic has chosen that specific location. I am extremely confident though that the small foreign magic still in your body Alina is the cause of your nightmares.

"You see, when we are awake our minds, bodies, and magic are on full alert. When we sleep however almost everything shuts down to recharge. It makes sense to those of us trying to solve your puzzle that the foreign magic would be able to flair up and affect you whenever you sleep. When you are awake your magic can hold it back but when you sleep there isn't anything to block it.

"I also am confident that this foreign magic is somehow leftover magic from your first year at Hogwarts. The magic inside your body then was magic fueled with intents to kill for _He Who Must Not Be Named_ so the fact that all of your dreams are centered around death and killing it supports that theory," Dr. Murino explained.

"So how do you get rid of the foreign magic? There is a way to get rid of it, right?" her mother asked.

"Finding a way to remove it or kill it off is our number one priority Mrs. Black. At the moment we are confident that a combination of _dreamless sleep potion_ with _magic rejuvenation draught_ will keep Alina healthy and sleeping until we can find her a better solution. For now Alina you need to be one-hundred-percent transparent with your parents. If you have a single dream, even a good one, feel sick at all, or feel anything that seems off you need to let them know as soon as possible so we can examine it. Any change in the foreign magic could have an affect on you understood?"

"Yes, Dr. Murino," she replied with an added nod of her head.

"Good. I'm sorry that I couldn't bring you all more solid answers but I promise that we are doing everything we can to find an answer. As soon as we do I will let you know."

"Thank you Dr. Murino," her father said, not sounding too happy with the current situation. She could not really blame him.

"Of course. This month's supply of potions is in this case, if you need anything else please don't hesitate to come to me."

"We will, goodbye Dr. Murino." She took the case from him and followed her parents and Dr. Murino out of the room.

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to exactly feel after all of that news, if you could really call a bunch of theories news. The idea of Voldemort's magic being inside her still terrified her. Never again did she want to have to experience what she felt in her first year. Even if it was just a tiny amount, any amount of Voldemort's magic inside you was too much.

She knew Dr. Murino was being honest when he told them that he was working hard to try to find an answer and she was hopeful that he would. His theories made sense to her. Her dreams now were a lot alike the dreams she had back in her first year and it made sense that dreams affected by Voldemort's magic would be centered around killing. She was disappointed there was still a chance in the future the nightmares could resurface but for now at least she would be able to sleep at night which she was extremely grateful about.

They left the patient room and again weaved through the hallways of St. Mungo's towards the floo network. She shouted out her destination as they arrived to St. Mungo's floo network and within a few seconds was back home. Anxious to start getting busy she made a straight path for the stairs and her room.

"Alina, I'm going to start preparing lunch so don't snack up there!" her father shouted as she sprinted up the stairs, skipping two at a time.

"I won't!" she bellowed down the hallway as she ran into her room.

 _Now how do I want to start. . ._ she thought to herself as her eyes darted around the room. Her father's words from earlier echoed around in her head as she stood their thinking.

 _Friendship is the greatest bit of magic the world will ever know._

She made her way over to her desk and took out two pieces of parchment and a quill. Her father was right. Even if she was going to try and be more independent and achieve something on her own having people in your corner was important. She knew if she wanted to accomplish anything on her own she needed a clear conscience and to do that she needed to apologize to her friends first for yelling at them in the hospital wing.

 _To my greatest friends,_

 _I wanted to apologize to everyone for being so cruel the other day. I know that you all were just worried about me and I am extremely thankful that I have such good friends who will look out for me. I have not been having one of my greatest years this year and a lot of things were weighing me down. Out of a combination of selfishness and stupidity I choose to burden myself down with all of that weight alone and just let it pile on too high. My explosion in the hospital wing was a result of me not being able to keep my composure any longer._

 _Please don't worry about me though. Being back home and talking with my family has alleviated my pains and brought me back down to earth and I am doing much, much better now. I had some tests done at St. Mungo's for my nightmares and they still don't have exact answers but the good news is the dreamless sleep potions they gave me are amazing! My dad says he has never heard someone snore so loud haha!_

 _I still plan on attending Hogwarts for the remainder of the school year and will be returning there this monday. I will miss you guys so much and I do hate that we won't be able to see each other until end of year presentations. I just need some time to focus on me. This is something that I must do to better myself so I hope that you will understand._

 _I have three of the most incredible people in the world as my friends. Three people who are so gifted, talented, and intelligent. Three friends who are about to achieve even more greatness by becoming the greatest Triwizard Champions of all time. I want to become great like my friends. I want to achieve something myself like all of you have, so that is why I want to spend a little time by myself this last month of school._

 _I will be thinking about you guys everyday and will be writing just as much. I hope that you all can forgive me and will understand my reasons for leaving Durmstrang. I will be watching the Triwizards' Tournament's final task still and will accept nothing less than a complete victory from you! If I am about to become great so you three better stay great (no pressure haha!) I love you all and cannot wait to hear from you and see you again._

 _Love,_

 _Alina_

Happy with the letter she set it to the side and placed the other sheet of parchment in front of her.

 _If you show your peers and classmates that you have changed they will welcome you into their circles just like your friends now did._

Her father's words echoed again in her head. As hard as it would be to apologize to someone if she wanted to grow her father was right, she needed to mend some of the bridges she had burnt. Who should she should apologize to first though? Who in her year could she possibly even become friends with even if they did accept her apology. One name came to mind before any others.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this," she groaned and picked up her quill.

 _Dear Luna,_

 _. . ._


	63. Book4: Chapter 17

**Harry**

Last night was single handedly the greatest sleep he had ever had in his life. Well, on second thought, the night falling asleep with Hermione in his arms during the night of the Yule Ball was the best sleep he had ever had in his life but last night was most certainly the second best night of sleep he had ever had! Alina, the incredible friend that she was, had sent them all a small batch of some of her supply of _dreamless sleep potion_ yesterday to ensure that they all had a good night's rest before the final task of the Triwizards' Tournament.

He had slept so hard that he was currently finding it nearly impossible to remove his head from the Harry-sized skull imprint on his pillow. As wrong as it was he was actually kind of jealous Alina got to sleep like this every night, even though he knew it was only because of the awful nightmares that came along with Alina's sleep; which that he was certainly not jealous of.

The mornings before the first two tasks had been rough. Even as confident as they were before each task and as much as they told themselves they would win; as soon as they tried to go to sleep the night before the task a million worries would always quickly come to mind and keep them up until the early hours of the morning. Thankfully, because of Alina, this time things were different.

He forced himself away from his warm pillow and let out a large yawn as he stretched out his limbs. Marik seemed to be slowly fighting the same battle with his pillow that Harry had just been fighting in his bed on the other side of the room.

"So we all definitely need to pool our money together and buy Alina a hell of a thank you present for those potions," he said in between a few more yawns.

"I don't know, they might have been too good. If there are any pillows or beds in this task I'm going to be screwed. I already want to kind of skip this task just to stay in bed a little longer," Marik croaked, his head still buried in his pillow.

"Please don't skip the task. I can already imagine what kind of article Rita Skeeter would write when she got wind that you were still in our room while the task was going on. _In order to get all of the credit for Hogwarts in the tournament Harry Potter stunned his partner, Marik Ose, before the tournament and locked him inside their room_ ," he ranted in his best Rita Skeeter voice, making sure to make the annoying woman's accent even more annoying.

"It's kind of scary how good you are getting at her accent man."

"The consequence of having to do interviews with her once a week. You want tea or coffee this morning?" he asked as he lept of his bed and made his way over to the miniature kitchen setup they had created in the corner of their room.

"Let's do some tea today. I had too much coffee yesterday and if I drink much more my wand hand is probably going to be shaking the entire task," Marik answered and Harry could hear him getting out of his bed. Harry filled the tea kettle with water and began boiling it.

"I think I'm going to take a quick shower before we head down to the Great Hall, don't leave without me, alright?"

"I won't. I'm gonna clean my wand off and re-adjust my wand holster, don't make a sex joke. Do you want me to take a look at yours too? We don't want them jamming during the task," Marik asked him.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I still have some of that wand polish, don't make a sex joke, that Alina got me for Christmas in my nightstand drawer if you need some. I'll be right back."

He grabbed his towel and shower bag, left their room and made his way to the boy's bathroom. The bathroom was empty of other students presently so he made his way over to his usual shower stall and turned on the warm water.

At Hogwarts the Gryffindor dorms were always chaos in the mornings, especially on class days. Tons of his housemates were always fighting over sinks and showers and getting a little peace and quiet to yourself as you woke up was impossible. At Durmstrang though his mornings were always blissfully quiet and as much as he did miss the familiarity of Hogwarts he would really miss the quiet that Durmstrang offered.

He had also really enjoyed being Marik's roommate this year and wished that somehow it would be possible for them to continue being roommates when they returned, though he knew the odds of a snake and a lion being able to use the other's dorm were slim to none.

The warm water from the shower was just as good as caffeine was in the morning waking him up. It was calming and when he closed his eyes it almost felt like it was literally washing his problems off his skin. Morning showers like this had become a daily tradition for him this year. In one of his books on occlumency, an ancient Japanese master of the subject, had done all of his training and mind organization under the steady stream of a waterfall.

With a large lacking of waterfalls here at Durmstrang, Harry had spent a small part of every morning using the steady stream of water from the shower head as his own version of a waterfall and had used the calming feeling the flowing water brought over him to develop and evolve his mind's organization and security. At this point in his occlumency studies there wasn't much more he could do to advance his mind's organization but he still enjoyed his morning showers and clearing his mind before each day.

After enjoying the water for a little while longer he cleaned himself off and dried off. He made his way back to their room and after putting on the set of battle robes his father had bought him, poured himself a cup of the black Irish tea.

"Here, test it out real quick. I adjusted your straps and moved them a little further down, that way your wand's grip should land a little better in your palm. Make sure it's a good spot for you," Marik said as he handed him his wand and wand holster.

Harry wrapped the holster around his forearm under his robes and placed his wand inside. With a small flick of his wrist his wand snapped forward into his hand, landing perfectly in his palm and ready to send spells ablazing.

"Thats a good spot, does feel a little better than how it did in our practice duels yesterday," he replied, sending his wand back into its holster.

"Alright good. I still wish I would have done some more research on known runes used for wand holsters. I feel like adding a few more good ones could make a huge difference," Marik confessed.

"Yeah, maybe. I think what happens after you have drawn your wand will make a bigger difference though," he replied and took a large sip of his tea.

"I agree. Though, I did read in one of those books from your family's collection that Grindelwald had a holster that was so enchanted with runes that it could nearly defeat opponents itself without even having to draw his wand. Apparently he even had the _imperius_ curse fused into it and when one of his enemies stole his wand and holster he controlled the person to bring it right back to him," Marik explained. His friend had really learned almost all there was to know about the famous old dark wizard.

"That doesn't surprise me at all from the little I have read about Grindelwald. You done with your tea?" he asked Marik.

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's go if you are ready," Marik answered.

"Yeah, let's go." They made their way out of their room and into the halls of Durmstrang castle towards the dining hall.

"Doesn't it seem a little emptier than usual?" Marik asked as they made their way down the first set of stairs. Harry had actually been thinking the same thing. The halls and corridors of the castle did seem to be practically empty to how they were normally were, especially on a weekend day and the day of a task. He and Marik usually were early birds, but there were still normally a fairly decent number of people usually walking around the castle.

"Yeah it does. This task does start a slight bit later than the others so maybe everyone is sleeping in," he suggested, not really sure himself.

"Yeah, maybe."

The rest of the way through the castle was much the same and they did not see a single person. What was even stranger than that was that the large wooden doors leading to the dining hall were also closed shut instead of being open like they normally were every morning.

"So, something is definitely going on here," he pointed out as they stopped outside the large doors.

"Yup, do we go in?" Marik questioned.

"I mean I'm hungry, so I think we should," he replied, looking over his shoulder to see if possibly anymore students had shown up.

"Well you open the door first. For all we know we slept so hard the final task has already started and there is a trap behind door number one," Marik quipped but Harry grabbed the large handle of the door and pulled it open. He immediately was deafened.

As the light of the large dining hall shown on his face a loud roar of clapping and cheers echoed throughout the hall. It took a second for his eyes to adjust but when they did he could see that the dining hall looked to be much bigger than usual. Instead of the normal number of tables lining the hall there were now over ten times as many tables scattered about, each one filled to the brim with students.

What was more amazing than that was that the Hogwarts section was filled to the brim with all of Hogwart's students. From where he was standing it looked like every student from Hogwarts was there, standing on their feet and clapping for he and Marik.

"What the hell Harry. . ." Marik started.

"I think Alina's potions may have been a little too strong Marik. I'm seeing shit here," he finished Marik's sentence.

Slowly, like scared deer they made their way into the hall and were pulled into the Hogwarts section of tables immediately by a group of students.

"Congratulations on making it to the final task Harry and good luck out there today!" Harry was a little caught off guard from the sudden swarm of students around him. As his mind slowly grasped the situation at hand he took the outstretched hand in front of him, realising that it was his housemate Neville congratulating him.

"Thank's Neville. What is everyone doing here? We had no idea you all were coming," he asked Neville.

"Dumbledore made everyone at Hogwarts swear not to tell anyone we were coming. But of course we had to come and cheer you guys on in the finals," Neville answered.

"I see. Well thanks for coming."

"Harry mate!" another voice shouted. Harry turned to see the two Weasley twins making their way over to him.

"We have a twenty galleons bet with some ugly git in Durmstrang on you lot," one of the twins said. Harry thought that it could have maybe been Fred.

"So you better win today," the other twin added.

"But if you lose, make sure you lose to a _stupefy_ spell," the first twin said.

"We have another bet on you getting knocked out by one," the second twin finished again.

"Glad to hear you are rooting for me," he quipped sarcastically.

"Oh of course we are mate,"

"Bring one home for good ole Gryffindor!" the twins said in unison and clanked the oddly large gold goblets that they were holding together

"I'll do my best," he smirked and pushed his way further into the crowd.

"Harry! Me and Ron are both wishing you luck. All of Gryffindor is cheering you on today!" Harry took the Katie Bell's one free hand and shook it and was surprised to see her other in Ron Weasley's.

 _What the hell had happened at Hogwarts this year while they were gone?_

"You two are. . . together?" he asked, failing a little to hide the disbelief in his voice. He had never been close to either Ron or Katie Bell but he would never have guessed the two of them would end up together. Katie was pretty, athletic, smart, on the quidditch team and Ron was well, Ron. In the small amount of time he spent in the Gryffindor common room he had never seen the two of them close to one another.

"Yeah, we are. Guess you missed out on all the school drama over here at Durmstrang. We started dating this year after Ron made the Gryffindor Quidditch team. We got in a argument over professional quidditch teams since Ron is somehow a BallyCastle Bats fan. After that we were both surprised how much we have in common and hit it off," Katie Explained and gave Ron a smile.

"You are a Bats fan?" Harry asked, a little surprised that Ron was a fan of the small professional quidditch club that his father and Sirius worked at.

"Yeah, have been since I could ride a broom. Are you too?" Ron asked him.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Thanks both of you for the good luck," he said and left them to make his way further into the crowd. He could hear his stomach growling even over the large number of students talking in the hall.

"Harry," A blunt voice called out in front of him. He could immediately make it out as Daphne's.

"Daphne?" he didn't mean to say her name like a question but he was surprised that she of everyone here would approach him, especially to wish him luck.

"My parents wanted me to make sure that I told you they are watching the tournament at home today and are wishing you luck," Daphne divulged. That explained the reason why she would approach him.

"Thanks for telling me Daphne," he smiled.

"And cuz."

"Yeah?" he stammered, not being used to her calling him 'cuz'.

"Good luck today," Daphne added with a half-attempt at a smile. To say Harry was shocked was an understatement. He was honestly a little moved.

"Thanks Daph, I'll see ya later."

Pushing through the rest of the Hogwart's crowd was slow. Tons of people, many of whom he had never met before, wanted to shake his hand and wish him luck on the task today. Since his first year Harry had never made any real attempt to befriend most of the people that greeted him. Outside of the Weasley twins and Neville he had never really spoken in private with any of them.

He was honestly surprised at how even so they still wanted to wish him luck and let him know they were cheering for him. He assumed it was more like they were cheering for Hogwarts and thus had to cheer for him, but still, it was kind of touching to him. Maybe the rest of Hogwarts outside his tight circle of friends wasn't so bad after all.

At last he could see the light at the end of the tunnel and could see Hermione, Marik, and surprisingly Alina all lost in a conversation at the end of the table. He shook two more hands quickly and bolted to the open spot beside them before anyone else could stop him.

"Look who finally showed up," Alina laughed with a smile. She reached over the table to give him a hug which he returned. "It's good to see you cuz."

"You too Alina. Merlin's mother though, this is chaos. Did you lot know this was going to happen?" he asked his friends as he dumped some eggs onto his plate.

"I had no clue. I came in here early to write Alina a thank you letter for the potions and nearly spilt my coffee all over myself when I walked through the doors," Hermione admitted.

"I can't believe you're here Alina. I didn't think we would get to see you until end of year presentations," Harry said to his cousin.

"I can't believe I'm back here either. But there was no way I was gonna miss this," Alina replied with a smile.

"Well I'm glad we got to see you so soon, and we all definitely owe you big time for those potions; they were amazing!" Marik declared and gave Alina a thank you hug. Alina accepted the hug with her arms awkwardly hanging stiff to her sides.

"Yes we really do. I haven't slept that well in a long time and I felt so refreshed and ready to go this morning," Hermione added.

"You are all welcome. Just don't tell my parents I sent you some; mom would probably kill me if she found out," Alina admitted.

"You aren't going to miss any nights of dreamless sleep now because of the batch you sent us right?" he asked. He had been worried when they received the supply of potions from Alina that his cousin would be having nightmares.

"No don't worry. They gave me a few extra vials just in case I spilt some or woke up in the night and needed more," Alina assured him. "I remembered the other night how bad you all looked each morning before the first two tasks so I figured I would do what I could to help."

"Well you certainly did help. If we win today we will give you a _bit_ of the credit. Just a little bit though," Marik laughed.

" _WHEN_ we win, not _if_ ," Hermione corrected him.

"Right, of course. _When_ we win," Marik corrected himself and piled another roll onto his plate.

"So I know in your letters you guys have been working around the clock for this task. Are you all still feeling confident?" Alina asked them all in between a large bite of bread.

"I think this is the most confident I personally have felt before a task yet," he answered first.

"Same here," Hermione added.

"I'm sure the other two teams are just as confident though. This is the only task that every team has gone into knowing at least somewhat what we were up against. The only difference between us at this stage is how each of us spent our free time preparing," Marik replied.

"Well I doubt that any of the other teams worked as hard as you three did," Alina proclaimed.

"I sure hope so," Hermione confessed.

"So how is Hogwarts? And why were you and Luna talking when I came in? I thought you hated her. I believe in your exact words ' _Luna was a blonde bimbo_ '," Marik asked, changing the subject away from their task today. They all laughed a little at his poor impression of Alina's voice.

"Hogwarts is actually really good. It feels good to be back there after so long and it took little to no time readjusting myself to life there. And Marik, I _did_ hate Luna before but I was immature and selfish back then. Before I returned to Hogwarts I sent her a letter apologizing and told her that I have changed and that I was wrong to have been so mean to her back then.

"To my surprise she quickly accepted my apology and ever since we have been exchanging notes and and stuff through the post. Surprisingly she even offered to help me fix some things with my herbology end of year project so of course I took her up on the offer since she is the best in my year in the class. We were just talking about our classes next year when you came in," Alina answered.

"What about your classes?" Hermione asked Alina.

"Luna is thinking about taking Spell Creations next year for the first time. She only added care of magical creatures and divination this year and is really interested in picking up another class next year too. I told her I wanted to push myself more next year and was thinking about adding care of magical creatures to my schedule, so we were planning on sharing our notes with each other and helping each other catch up in the subjects over the summer maybe," Alina answered.

It was weird to think that Luna and Alina were being friendly now. Before recently he would have even gone so far as to guess that the odds of him becoming friends with Draco Malfoy were higher than Alina and Luna ever becoming friends. It certainly appeared that he had been wrong with that guess though.

Alina had written to them a number of times ever since she left Durmstrang and explained that she was looking to start a new page in her life, or turn a new leaf, or something of that sort. He guessed mending bridges was a part of her big master plan. Still, with all of the past drama between Alina and Marik it was had to imagine her being friendly with his ex. Regardless, Alina looked happy, so that made him happy, even if it was a little weird and hard to comprehend.

"So Luna is trying to take ten classes next year and you nine? Bloody hell that's too much," Marik roared, shaking his head in disbelief at the notion of taking so many classes.

"I don't think ten is too much. I thought it would be too much before, but I considered adding astronomy this year. I was going to talk to Professor Flitwick about it at the start of term but I decided against it when we got announced to be Champions. I'm happy that you are pushing yourself Alina. If you or Luna want any of my old care of magical creatures or ancient runes notes I'd be happy to let you borrow them," Hermione told Alina.

"Thanks Hermione. I definitely will want to borrow them for sure. And Marik, I was honestly thinking about taking ten classes next year to; I just can't decide between astronomy or divination. If I want to be the best in my year I need to be on equal ground with my competition. Luna is already taking one more class than me this year and if I let her take more than me again next year and she excels in all of them my chances of beating her in the rankings is slim to none.

"From even the small amount I have written and talked to her over this month I honestly think she is already ahead of me this year. Being the best in nine classes looks a lot better than being the best in eight. You really should consider adding more classes to your schedule next year too Marik. That's probably part of the reason Harry and Hermione beat you last year and will probably beat you this year. My mom told me that even Daphne has been writing them saying that she is probably going to be adding spell creations and care of magical creatures next year," Alina replied.

"They are not going to beat me again this year! Last year was a fluke!" Marik tried to argue.

"We will see. Though from what I recall you haven't been number one since your first year," Alina pointed out. Marik started to say something but stopped himself and lowered his head down towards his plate, defeated.

"Do you think Daphne is really going to try and take ten classes next year?" he asked his cousin.

"Knowing Daph it would not surprise me. I know she has been wanting to take spell creation for a while now but didn't pull the gun on it this year. Plus I think everyone in the school wants to add care of magical creatures to their schedule once they hear how easy it is. I think me, Marik, and Daphne are the only ones left that are still missing out on an easy grade," Alina replied.

"We will have to keep stepping up our game if she does," Hermione admitted.

"Yeah, we will," Harry agreed. The fact that Daphne had not kicked one of them out of the top three yet already was a testament to how hard they worked each year. Keeping her out of the top three each year was a difficult challenge as his cousin seemed to double her efforts each year.

"Well no worrying about that today. After today you have the rest of the year to worry about all that stuff!" Alina exclaimed.

"Miss Alina is right, you three need to be focusing on the task at hand and enjoying the moment," a voice interjected into their conversation from behind him. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see professor McGonagall standing there.

"Professor McGonagall! It's good to see you today," said Harry as he turned to face their transfiguration professor.

"It's good to see you too Mr. Potter, and you too Miss Granger and Mr. Ose. How are you three feeling this morning?" Professor McGonagall asked them.

"We are all feeling well Professor, thank you for asking," Hermione replied.

"As confident as ever that Hogwarts will win this," Marik added.

"I'm certainly happy to hear that. As you can see all of Hogwarts is here and rooting for you three to make that happen."

"We will professor!" Harry assured her confidently.

"I believe that you three will Mr. Potter. I am afraid that I am going to have to end your little chat here though, as I need you three to follow me. The final task will be getting under way soon and there's one final Hogwarts tradition to follow before."

"What final tradition?" he asked, having never heard of another tradition before now.

"Say your goodbyes for now to Miss Black and then follow me and you will see Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall retorted with a smile.

"Sorry we have to leave you so soon after just getting to see you again Alina," Hermione apologized and gave Alina a hug.

"You guys don't worry about me. You all just kick ass today and win this thing for Hogwarts!" Alina insisted.

"We will Alina. Thanks for coming to cheer us on today!" Harry replied, smiling at his cousin.

"Like I said, I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world. Now go! Make me proud you three!" Alina roared.

"You can count on us!" Marik shouted and pushed himself up and away from the table. Harry and Hermione followed his lead.

The three of them followed Professor McGonagall out of the dining hall in a quiet, anxious anticipation. None of them had any idea what they were about to get into and what this tradition entailed. Part of him was already nervous and sweating that the task was already about to begin and his mind was racing to fully wake up and get ready to get down to business.

McGonagall lead them through the main hallway and through the front gate of the castle onto the school's grounds. Just like when they entered the dining hall earlier, his ears were immediately filled with the sound of applause, only this time, thankfully, on a less loud of a scale. Standing in front of them in two long lines were all of their Hogwarts professors and Headmaster Dumbledore standing in the middle, each one of them with a large smile on his face; minus Snape who had more of an annoyed look on his.

Hermione, Marik, and he stood their shock at the sight and the feeling of having all of the professors cheering for them and standing there on Durmstrang's grounds for them alone. It was really a moving feeling Harry thought. He had been told countless times throughout the tournament that people were rooting for them to win; until today though that notion had honestly never really hit him. Today, though, after having all of the students of Hogwarts here, wanting to shake his hand, and now all of their professors clapping for them it all felt very real. One thing was certain, they had no other option than to win the tournament today.

"What is all of this?" Hermione asked McGonagall as the claps died down. Dumbledore broke from the line of professors and walked forwards.

"The final tent walk has been a tradition of Hogwarts since the very first Triwizards' Tournament, Miss Granger," Dumbledore started. His eyes were sparkling and his smile grew as he approached them.

"The final tent walk?" Harry asked, still having never heard of this tradition.

"Today, for the final task of the Triwizards' Tournament you will walk to the Champions tent with all of us, Mr. Potter," McGonagall responded.

"Are we walking with you because of something to do with the final task?" Marik asked.

"Come, walk with us," Dumbledore ordered and they quickly fell into line with all of the professors and slowly began to proceed across the grounds of Durmstrang. "The first Headmaster of Hogwarts, Owlrick Ophenwandum, started this tradition at Hogwarts during the first Triwizards' Tournament after asking one of his school's champions a simple question," Dumbledore started to explain.

"What question was that sir?" Harry asked.

"He asked the Champion who would be fighting for Hogwarts in the final task, to which the Champion responded quickly with "why us three of course!" Headmaster Ophenwandum was displeased with this answer and before the final task of the tournament started he began the tradition of the final walk; to ensure that the next time he asked that question he received a different answer.

"Can any of you three tell me why Headmaster Ophenwandum would have been displeased with his Champion's answer?" Dumbledore asked them. The three of them made eye contact and shrugged their shoulders before turning back to Dumbledore and shaking their heads.

"The Champion believed that the three Champions of Hogwarts were the only ones fighting to win the tournament. They believed that the final task was their fight alone and that only they were carrying the immense burden of the tournament on their shoulders. Their answer and belief could not be more wrong than the truth however.

"This tournament, along with the final task you are about to partake in, is not you three's fight or burden alone. The professors walking beside you have been fighting this fight since the very first day you stepped into Hogwarts. With every lesson, with every lecture, and with every minute of extra guidance these professors have given you, they have been fighting this fight alongside you. Without their lessons and guidance you three would have never been able to come as far as you have in this tournament. Your professors carry the weight of your performance on their shoulders and thus, are also carrying the weight of the tournament on their shoulders along with you.

"They are not the only ones though. The many students of Hogwarts that you just saw in the dining hall are also in this fight with you. Without each of them pushing themselves to be the best they can be none of you would have ever pushed yourself to the limits you have and achieved all that you have achieved. Without their friendships you would have never survived this fight. I know first hand how many sacrifices at least one student has made so that you three have been able to have more time preparing for the tournament.

"Your parents along with all the viewers rooting for Hogwarts back at home are also fighting here with you today. You may never hear their wishes or cheers of good luck but you must know that they are there. The purpose of this walk is to show the three Champions of Hogwarts that you are not walking alone today. We are with you, your friends are with you, your parents and families are with you, and everyone cheering for Hogwarts at home is with you.

"When the task starts we want you to know that you are not only fighting to win the tournament for yourselves, but for all of us standing here before you and for everyone that has helped you get to this point. We want you to know that if during this task the pressure or weight of the task becomes too great, that you know that you are not shouldering that weight alone. Everyone is with you, and all of us are standing strong by your sides" Dumbledore finished, and flashed the three of them a warm smile.

"So no pressure," Kingsley laughed and the other professors joined him.

"Yeah right no pressure!" Harry cried, visibly sweating now. The Headmaster's words had in fact put an enormous amount of pressure onto them.

Harry understood very clearly what Dumbledore was saying and his message had hit home immediately. Though they were the only ones physically competing in the task today they were not the only ones who had some stake in this tournament. Dumbledore was right. Their professors had made sacrifices with their time and energy that they did not have to make to help prepare them for the tournament. Their reflection in each task was a reflection on their professors and anything less than success was reflecting their efforts poorly.

The professors weren't the only ones. His dad had sent him and Hermione new battle robes to help them in the tournament, Remus had sent him a few books he thought would provide assistance, and his aunt Hemera had sent them care packages almost every week with little odds and ends that had made studying and practicing so much easier.

Alina this year had been the epitome of sacrifice. She had sacrificed so much for them that she had ended up in the hospital because of it. She set aside her problems, needs, and desires so that her friends could achieve greatness. Everyone had sacrificed things for them to succeed in this tournament. He had known this before, but after Dumbledore's speech the reality of it all was sinking in. They had to win today, for everyone. They had to win to say thank you.

"You three will be fine. You should only use the Headmaster's words as motivation, not pressure," Professor McGonagall added with a smile. The three of the gulped and nodded their heads. Harry could see the Champions tent closing in down in the distance and the pressure inside his chest built with each step they took towards it.

"Do you think we can win?" Hermione asked the professors nervously.

"Hermione, you are. . ." Professor Flitwick started to say but was cut off.

"Filius, if I may?" Snape interjected in his usual mellow tone. Professor Flitwick motioned with his arms as to signal to their potions professor to 'go ahead'. "Miss Granger are you aware that only three students in all of Europe over the past fifty years have ever managed to brew a _black fire_ potion using dragon blood and dragon heartstring and that you are one of them," Snape said, looking at Hermione. Her cheeks flushed a little at the professor's words.

"Mr. Ose, are you aware that the only other person to win their first three consecutive major dueling tournaments while in school is your charms professor," Snape added, turning to Marik. Marik's mouth was agape and seemed to be in a state of disbelief that Snape was somewhat giving him a compliment.

"And Mr. Potter, not only have you become one of the youngest full _animagi_ in a century but you have also somehow managed to also become a part of a very elite small group of people who have succeeded in adding additional _animagus_ stages to their ritual." Harry's mouth joined Marik's as he heard his first ever compliment from Snape. He pinched himself to make sure he still wasn't dreaming. "Which is quite impressive, given who your father is," Snape mumbled the last comment out.

"So to answer your question Miss Granger, yes, we all think you can win," Kingsley chuckled.

"We will do our best to prove you all right then," Harry exclaimed confidently.

"We would expect nothing less from you three Mr. Potter. You all have been some of our best students and you have already made us all so proud," McGonagall replied with a motherly smile.

"We wish you the best of luck in the final task. Now, I'm afraid, that we must leave you. Please make your way into the Champions' tent and prepare yourself, the final task shall begin soon," Dumbledore added with another smile.

They exchanged a few more hugs and thanks to their professors before leaving them and entering the champions' tent. Harry led the way and pulled the flap to the side, revealing that they were the last team to arrive. Both other teams stared them down upon their entry; both teams looking more confident than ever that they would achieve absolute victory in this task.

"Looks like things won't be easy today," Hermione pointed out as they crossed the tent and made their way over to the Hogwarts section.

"Would you want them to be?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course not. Where would be the fun in that?" Hermione replied with a smile.

Their group sat there in silence for a while, concentrating in silence as they all tried to calm their nerves and steady their hands. The wait took forever and the silence hanging in the tent was deafening. He had managed to calm himself down and slow his breathing but the longer the waiting drug on the more his legs started fidgeting and the more he began to think. Thankfully, before the waiting got to him anymore the three Headmasters made their way into the tent.

"Gather round!" Headmaster Karkaroff bellowed as he made his way to the center of the tent. "This will be short. I have already told you that you all have one mission in this task and that is to survive. The rest I hope you remember. You will not be told when a Champion has been eliminated from the task. The only point throughout this task in which you will be notified of anything is when their is only one team left standing. When all other teams have been eliminated fireworks will go off; the tournament will be concluded and the victor will be crowned.

"Now, we need to assign your castle starting points. I need you to one at a time to reach into this bag and pull out a token. The token will not provide any clues to you but will let us know which portkey to give you. We will go in order of scores, starting with Beauxbatons."

The three Beauxbatons champions made their way up to the Durmstrang Headmaster and one after another reached into the bag and pulled out a token.

"Hogwarts now," Headmaster Karkaroff ordered.

They made their way up to him and Harry took the lead and reached into the bag first. He pulled out a green token with no significant markings or anything on it. After both Hermione and Harry had pulled their tokens out of the bag they looked over each others just to be on the safe side. Even if the Headmaster said they would not give them any clues they still wanted to make sure.

"Lastly, Durmstrang." The Durmstrang champions quickly pulled out their tokens from the bag.

Dumbledore and Beauxbatons Headmistress made their ways around the room and handed each person a specific random item that Harry assumed was their portkeys. Harry took the baseball cap from Dumbledore, who winked at him as he passed by. Harry held the portkey tight in his hands and again tried to calm his breathing down.

 _The final task is about to start Harry. You can be scared later. Now is the time to be calm and cool. Everyone is counting on you._ He silently thought to himself and focused a little magic into his occlumency in an attempt to wash his mind's worries and negative thoughts out.

"Now that you have your portkeys all that is left is to wish you good luck. May the best team win," Headmaster Karkaroff's words were cut short as Harry was pulled through portkey and his body warped through its magic. His world span and his vision blurred as he twisted through the tunnels of the portkey until everything stopped and his world stopped spinning.

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	64. Book4: Chapter 18

**Hermione**

This was all happening too fast, way too fast. Two seconds ago she was enjoying a breakfast with her friends in the dining hall and in the blink of an eye she was getting portkeyed to Merlin knows where. It had all happened so fast that she hadn't even managed to take out her wand before her world started spinning and the portkey had pulled her through.

Her world twisted and turned, bent and shook as the magic stretched her body and moved her to its destination. It was all happening so fast, the final task of the Triwizards' Tournament was already starting. She tried to calm her nerves but was finding it difficult to do so with all of the pressure the portkey was putting on her. Her world continued to spin until finally it stopped. Her feet found solid ground and she opened her eyes, ready to begin.

A familiar view opened up before her, a view that brought an overwhelming wave of happiness over her. She was standing on one of Durmstrang's tall towers, the very same tower that she had spent the greatest night of her life on with Harry after the Yule Ball. The view was almost exactly how she remembered it, only instead of the landscapes around her being lit by the stars they were being covered with the radiant orange, purple glow of the sunset over the green German hillsides.

It was a picturesque view. A view so great that she was nearly willing to just skip out on participating in the final task so she could enjoy it for a little longer. The rolling, tall green grass on the hillside of the castle was waving in the wind and with each change of direction seemed to change to a new shade of vibrant green in the wake of the sunset's light. The patches of tall trees scattered around were casting long shadows across the grounds underneath them.

From here you could see everything. She could see the different farm patches of land that bordered Durmstrang. In the distance she could just even barely make out the field of tulips that she had passed on her way back from Anklam with Fleur.

The longer she stood there the harder it was to turn away. Her lower lip had begun to tingle and instinctively her fingers had come up to brush them, remembering the passion of Harry's kisses that night, many months ago. She closed her eyes and allowed herself a second of bliss, a second to enjoy the moment. The second passed and she opened her eyes and drew her wand out from its holster.

 _When we win the task, I'll bring Harry back up here again._ She thought to herself as she turned from the railing and made her way to the trapdoor. She lifted the trapdoor and climbed down the ladder with a quiet haste into the storage room beneath. If her memory served her right the door from this storage room would lead her to the fourth floor of the castle, somewhere in the west wing.

With her wand raised she reached out for the handle and turned it slowly. The door opened and a sliver of light crept into the dark room. She only allowed the door to crack open a few inches before she peered outside. Her eyes went wide with surprise at what she saw.

Durmstrang's castle was filled with students! The fourth floor hallway looked how the halls around the classroom normally did during the week. Students in Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang robes were walking the halls, chatting away like today was just any normal day.

Some students were walking in a hurry, their schoolbooks and bags in hand like they were about to be late to class. Other students were walking more slowly, caught up in what looked like a fun conversation with the witch or wizard walking next to them. Right outside of her door there was even a group of Durmstrang boys kicking a magical-hacky-sack around and laughing loudly when one of them messed it up.

Her feet were glued to the floor of the storage room. She had certainly not been expecting all of the students to be here! When Durmstrang's Headmaster had told them they would find themselves alone in a mock-up castle she had expected to be, well, alone. This was quite the opposite though. She was certainly not alone.

 _Is this why all of Hogwarts had really come today?_ She wondered, curious if coming to cheer them on had only been part of their reason for being there today. She stood still, planted to the floor of the storage room for a little while longer, wanting to observe the situation a little more, hoping that something or someone walking past might potentially give her a clue that could help her with this task. She watched the students, none of which seemed to look over at her head peering through the crack of the door. She, waited and watched until finally she saw someone that she recognized.

"Luna! Luna, over here!" she whispered as loudly as she could without drawing too much attention to herself as the blonde witch walked past her, a mere five feet away. Luna ignored her calls though and her the Ravenclaw third year's eyes never left the book that she was reading as she continue walking down the hall and got lost in the crowd of students out of Hermione's sight.

"What a bitch!" she huffed. She knew that she and Luna had not talked much since Marik and her had broken up but jeez she was still a Hogwarts student and could have helped Hermione out a little. She remained behind the door for a little while longer, hoping someone else she recognized would walk past her. She wasn't sure exactly how long she stood there but after a decent amount of time she again saw someone she recognized, only, it was Luna again.

Just as she had earlier, the blonde girl walked the same path she had before, her eyes never leaving the book she was reading as she past Hermione and again got lost down the hallway in a group of students.

"Umm, what?" Hermione found herself saying as she watched Luna disappear. She turned her head to the group of Durmstrang boys still playing magical hacky-sack beside the door. She watched as one boy kicked the ball to another. The boy closest to her seemed to be the least experienced in the game; each time they kicked the sack over to him he fumbeled with his feet and missed kicking the sack badly. She listened to them laugh and then watched again, this time more intently.

"Brown hair kicks to guy with long hair. Long hair guy shows off real quick then kicks to blonde hair. Blonde hair kicks back to brown hair who kicks it to. . ." she watched as the boy closest to her again fumbled with his feet and missed the sack badly, exactly as he done before. The other boys laughed loudly, their laughter echoing around the hallway, exactly like they had before.

"They're all on repeat. . ." she whispered to herself and watched the boys one more time to confirm her theory.

Slowly she pushed open the door a little further and took one step out into the hallway, closer the group of Durmstrang boys. Her wand was ready in her hands, ready to cast a spell at the slightest shift in the hallway. Quietly she slowly made her way up to the boy who kept missing the sack and reached out her hand, cautiously trying to rest it on his shoulder.

As her hand closed in on the boy's shoulder no one around her still seemed to notice that she was there. None of the boys were looking at her and none of them made any comment about her being behind the boy. Her hand touched where the boy's shoulder should have been, but made no contact with skin or robes; instead it just passed right through.

"They're all copies, just illusions." she whispered to herself and quickly ran over to another boy and tested to see if he too was just an illusion. Again her hand went right through the other boy. She turned and made her way over to the middle of the hallway and stood planted at the center. All of the students paid her no mind though and a large number of them simply walked right through her along their path, as if she wasn't even there.

All of them were just illusions, every single student in the hallway. They were all just like the thought projections produced with _gemino_ spell she was so familiar with. Slowly the realisation of what this all meant in regards to the task sank in.

"Oh fuck this is going to be tough," she groaned. It was only a hypothesis at this point but if the rest of the three castles were like the hallway she was currently in was, finding an opponent or even an ally would be like finding a needle in a haystack. With crowds of students as large as this you could potentially walk by someone and never know you had.

She remained in her position at the center of the hallway thinking, the cogs turning violently in her head as she processed every scenario and idea concerning this discovery that she could think of. An idea came to mind; she lifted her head and turned it on a swivel to look at the students around her. She stood their watching them, looking to see if her theory played out.

Even though she was risking a lot by just standing in the middle of the hallway she was the type of person that had to know things. She had to test her ideas out first before taking action. There was too much at stakes here in the final task to take risks. She needed a firm grasp on things first before she moved forward.

She continued to take in the students walking around her and counted each time she saw Luna walk past. When she got to five Lunas she was satisfied that her theory was true. Tons of different students had walked past her, but not a single one of them was a Triwizard Champion. The copies only seemed to be of normal students, which meant that if she saw a champion in the crowd they would have to be the real deal. With that new information in mind and knowing that she had most likely spent too much time in one spot she followed the crowd down the hallway.

Durmstrang castle had been her home for nearly ten months now. The hallways, classrooms, and staircases had become much more familiar to her, Harry, and Marik over the school year. After learning of what the last task would entail a month ago they had taken a little time each day to map out parts of the castle. Each day they had made it a point to go out and explore a new area too, just to ensure that they knew Durmstrang about as well as one could.

As familiar as she might have become with the castle over the year if any Durmstrang student ended up in the castle with her they would certainly still have an advantage over her. She had been hoping to end up in Hogwarts where she would have the greatest advantage but Durmstrang would have been her second choice.

Even with all of their research on Beauxbatons they had received little to no information on the French school. Fleur had been an impossible to crack safe with information on her school as well and had provided them with absolutely zero useful information. Hermione couldn't blame her friend though, they hadn't told her anything about Hogwarts either.

Hermione knew where she was in Durmstrang's castle presently, and as she walked along with the crowd of students she tried to think of where she should go. The fourth floor, the floor she presently on, was the study and research floor of the castle. Most of the rooms were dueling rooms, potions labs, study rooms, and the largest feature on the floor was the Durmstrang library.

It was hard to imagine that it would be worthwhile checking each individual room in the castle, especially each of the hundreds of study rooms. There was no real reason for any of the champions to go into one of those rooms unless you were just planning on sitting their all task and waiting to pounce, which Hermione guessed was a potential strategy for someone to take.

To be honest there wasn't any real reason to go into any room in the castle. The point of the task was to survive. Libraries and study rooms wouldn't really help her accomplish that. No-what she really needed to do, if she really wanted to survive, was find Harry and Marik. If she could even find just one of them their odds of winning the task increased substantially.

Headmaster Karkaroff had explained to them a month ago that would be able to move freely from one castle to another throughout the task. The Headmaster also told them that they would each find themselves separated from their teammates, which to her most likely meant they were each in a different castle and it was the same probably for the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' champions as well. The question now was how - how did they move from one castle to another. That was the answer she needed to find out and the sooner she did the better.

She left the main stream of students making their way down the middle of the hallway and turned to the library door. The detour to the library would be a quick one; she just wanted to check out things out and test another one of her theories.

One line of the Headmaster's speech had stood out to them as they planned for this task all of last month. 'What you find among the many familiar hallways and rooms may be different than what you are used to'. Perhaps that meant that even though she knew this door in front of her led to the library that maybe it wasn't books that she would find inside. With caution she reached out to the door and slowly pulled it open.

Inside the library nothing looked out of place from the norm. There were students in here just like there were in the hallway, even the Durmstrang's librarian could be found behind the counter at the room's center and just like normal her copy seemed to be yelling at a student. With her wand raised, Hermione turned and made her way deeper into the library.

Wanting to have cover in case of a surprise attack she lowered her stance and crept in between bookshelves, pausing in her strides only long enough to look between the shelves at her surroundings. She weaved in between the shelves of each section of the library trying to be as thorough with her searching as she could be.

She doubted most of the champions had the patience to sit and wait in one room. She was confident that almost everyone would most likely be moving around trying to find their school mates. Still, she wanted to be thorough with her searching of the rooms she did enter just in case. Maybe, just maybe she might find something to help her win the task.

After a complete sweep of the final section of the library Hermione was satisfied that she was the only real person inside the room. Satisfied with that she turned back down the final row of shelves towards the door of the library.

"Ahhh! _Stupefy!"_ she screamed in a panic as someone had managed to get behind her. Her spell flew right through the person though and collided with a loud bang with the bookshelf behind them, causing all of the books to fall loudly on the floor.

It took a second for her to catch her breath from the startle and she quickly saw that the person behind her was just an illusion of a random Durmstrang student. She took a moment to try and calm her nerves but was put on full alert again as she heard movement somewhere in front of her. Her eyes darted around her, looking for the source of the noise.

It appeared to be coming from around the bookshelf that she had just hit with her _stupefy_ spell. She raised her wand, ready for someone to pop out from behind it. Nobody came out though and she quickly realised that the sound was not coming from behind the bookshelf but from all of the books that her spell had knocked off of the shelf. She watched as the books on the ground began to twitch one on top of the other and her eyes went wide as the book on the top of the pile levitated up into the air, around eye level with her.

Like a dart the book shot from its spot down the row of shelves she was in between towards her. Her reaction was too slow and the book collided with her arm sending a burning sensation throughout her body.

"Oww!" she screamed as she looked down at her arm as the book fell to the floor. A large burn hole had appeared in her robes. "What the hell!" she exclaimed as she looked her robes over and the burn mark that she could see now on her skin. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement again as four more books had levitated up into the air.

"Oh no you don't!" She turned down towards the other exit of the row of shelves and went into a full sprint as the books began chasing after her. Like running through a maze she ran through the rows of shelves in the library trying her best to dodge the books chasing after her and somehow make it to the door.

Each time one of the books following her missed and collided with one of the shelves more books joined in on chasing her. She corralled the books into a long line like a snake behind her and as soon as she made it to an open space section of the library turned to face them with her wand raised.

" _Impedimenta!"_ she shouted the spell, hitting a large number of books with the movement slowing spell. Her spell had managed to slow a large number of the books chasing after her but more crept around the corner and continued on in high pursuit. She turned back around from them and with the door in her sights put all of her energy into running as fast as she could.

She pointed her wand at the door and slung it open and practically dove through it out into the hallway. As soon as her feet crossed the boundary of the doorway she waved the door shut and heard a dozen loud bangs as the books collided with the door on the other side.

She quickly rose up to her feet and dusted her robes off. If anyone was nearby then they had definitely heard all of that. She had been careless in there, allowing herself to scream loudly like that and shout out spells. With her wand raised and her eyes scanning she fell back into the main line of students at the center of the hallway and followed their path.

So the Headmaster had not been lying. Attacking books was certainly not something she was used to finding in the library, at least in the non-restricted section. At least she had proven his point to be correct although how that actually helped her she had no idea.

The main stream of students seemed to be heading towards the staircase that lead to the third floor and Hermione decided to stick with them. There was the possibility that each room could have something dangerous inside like the library had so she didn't really want to start just checking rooms randomly at this point. She would never be able to forgive herself if she ended up getting eliminated by a trap like attacking books.

She decided her plan at the present should be to get to an open part of the castle, somewhere where she could get a good vantage point and look for a way to either of the other castles or to find her friends. As she made her way down the steps to the third floor two main areas of the castle came to mind.

The dining hall would be a good spot to camp out at. She could easily make sure the large doors were closed and would know as soon as they opened that someone had entered. However, the dining hall didn't really give her the best chances of finding someone else. Once she was in there she would be stuck in there.

The only other real option she could think of at the moment was the main hall of the castle. The main hall not only had doors leading to the grounds and the dining hall but it also had a number of other rooms attached to it, along with staircases leading to the first and second floors. It was the best place in the castle to see a number of different spots at once, however, that also meant it would leave her open to attacks from potentially a number of different spots.

That was a risk she would have to take though. Wondering around in these random parts of the castle decreased her odds of running into someone and that included her friends. She turned from the main group of students she had been walking with and headed across the third floor towards the main staircases leading to the main hall.

Without any trouble she made it to the main stairwell of Durmstrang's main hall and from the second floor balcony took a look around. The parts of the castle she had been at before had been practically empty compared to the main hall. Half of the the entire castle's students had to be here.

A large number of students were grouped up in different areas of the main hall and stood stationary as they talked to the other illusions around them. An enormous group of students were walking up the staircases to the other floors and as one group left her sight another group entered into the main hall from another hallway downstairs.

She scanned the area, looking for a good vantage point to move to. The second floor balcony, where she currently was, was honestly probably the best position. From here she could almost the entire hall, however, that also meant the entire hall could see her just standing there, and it did not help her that none of the students walking around her were standing still to give her cover.

She had read enough dueling history books to know that high ground meant everything in a duel so if she planned on sticking around the main hall area she should probably remain on the second floor. It would be good too if she could somehow draw the other champions to the first floor of the main hall that way she guaranteed herself the higher ground in a potential fight. Another idea came to mind. It was a good one but would take some time to put in motion which could be risky.

If she could secure and hold the main hall that would increase her friends' chances of finding her. She didn't like the idea of playing the waiting game, but at the moment it seemed like her best option. She was confident in her dueling ability if another champion found her before her friends did. She was even more confident that if she laid out some traps and fortified the main hall to her benefit that her odds were even better.

"Alright Harry-Marik-you guys are going to have to come to me," she whispered to herself and moved back into the crowd.

There were five major travel points into and away from the main hall. The dining hall, the front door, the two stair cases leading to the second floor, and two main hallways leading to the first floor classrooms. Her plan was to set up traps in each one of those main travel points.

She made her way over to the first staircase and crept halfway down it to the middle stair. Quietly she enchanted the stair case with the sticking spell, _waddiwakka,_ as well as the _sonorus_ spell. If anyone triggered the trap they would be stuck to the stair and be forced to cast a counterspell. Thanks to the _sonorus_ spell as soon as they did their voice would boom across the hall and she would know exactly where they were.

She made her way over to the other set of stairs and proceeded to the same trap on the staircase before making her way down to the first floor of the main hall. With caution she crept through the illusions of students towards the door of the dining hall, which was currently closed.

" _Diffindo,"_ she pointed her wand at the bottom of her battle-robes and cut a small strand of fabric off them. She ripped the fabric in two and transfigured both halves into two thin pieces of string.

Using another sticky charm, she stuck the first string in between the crack of the door and enchanted it with the _reducto_ spell. As soon as someone opened the door the string would immediately explode; not only letting her know where the champion was coming from but also hopefully giving them a good blasting at the same time.

She made her way over to the closed front door of the castle and repeated the process, this time using the wind explosion spell, _aeriacta,_ so that she could easily distinguish the two explosions from each other. The last two main travel points were the two hallways that led under the stairs towards the first floor classrooms.

Unfortunately, in the first hallway there weren't many objects that she could enchant or use to signal her. She settled on drawing an invisible boundary line that would single her as soon as someone crossed it. The second hallway, however, had more things that she could use to enchant. Stealing the idea from the attacking books in the library she enchanted two of the benches at the end of the hallway with the _oppugno_ spell, which would cause the benches to attack a target if they walked by.

As soon as she finished the spell she made her way back to the center of the main hall. This is where her plan really kicked off. Raising her wand she cast one of her favorite spells, the _geminio_ spell. She pushed her magic out and created nine other illusions of herself. She looked them over quickly and was satisfied that each of them looked just as good as all of the other students' illusions.

She ordered each of her illusions to spread out across the hall. Four of the illusions would be walking around the first floor slowly and to make them more realistic she ordered them to look over their shoulders periodically and occasionally crouch and creep. With the remaining five illusions she ordered them to hide in spots around the hall on the first floor.

The goal wasn't too make her illusions hard to see-no-quite the opposite actually. She wanted people to be able to find one of them easier. Her hope was they would see it, attack it, and give her the element of surprise, plus the odds of one of her friends seeing her and calling out to one of the Hermione illusions would be higher if they could easily find one of them.

Happy with her traps and her plan she made her way back up to the second floor, being careful to step over the trapped step. Once she was back on the second floor she moved away from the crowds of students and hid in a corner that gave her the best vantage point of all of her traps. From her position the only trap she couldn't see was the front door but if that trap was triggered she would know in a hard beat and could move quickly.

When she arrived at the corner she cast a notice-me-not spell and the best _dillusio,_ concealing spell, that she could cast on herself. If someone looked hard enough they would probably be able to see her; hopefully, though, they would trigger one of her traps before that happened.

Now it was time to wait. She knew her plan had one fatal flaw to it. If Harry or Marik triggered one of her traps that could be potentially very bad for them. Still, she figured even if one of them did trigger a trap they could probably repair any damages her traps did quick enough.

After a few minutes of waiting in her corner she had already begun to memorize some of the paths the illusions down in the main hall followed by looking for the illusions that stood out more than others. A Durmstrang girl with bright blonde hair that was easy to spot made her way from one one of the hallways all the way across the main hall before exiting out of the other on the other side. The process seemed to take what Hermione guessed was around two minutes each time before the blonde girl disappeared down the hall only to reappear again a few seconds later in the first hall.

Waiting was boring and only led to her anxieties and nerves increasing the longer she sat there. Watching the students and trying to memorize their patterns was all she could do to try and calm her nerves. Her fingers found themselves crossing on top of her wand as she hoped that Harry or Marik would find her soon.

As she remained in place waiting, thinking about Harry and Marik helped to calm her nerves a little. One of them was in Hogwarts she was certain. That meant at least one of them had the advantage over their opponents. Whoever was in Beauxbatons was unlucky, but hopefully they would be okay or find one of the other castles soon. Regardless of the castle they may be in she knew both of the boys could handle themselves. They would be okay-she on the other hand was the one she was most worried about.

" _Waddiwasi!"_ the words of the unsticking spell boomed throughout the hall, perking Hermione's ears up as she turned her head to the two staircases lining the main hall. "Shit!- _Quietus_!" the voice bellowed out the counter spell to her _sonorus_ spell, but not before Hermione was able to see where the yelling voice had come from.

Her trap had worked beautifully. Walking down the staircase closest to her, she could easily spot Beauxbaton's champion, Weiss Marceau looking over her shoulders as she crept carefully down the stairs. Hermione's eyes followed her.

The French champion was on full alert now; her eyes darting all over the hall for the source of the trap. Weiss's face looked like it was trying to find out if the trap had been placed by someone or if it was a trap that had already been in place. This was Hermione's chance to make a move.

With a wave of her wand she ordered one of her thought projections to run behind Weiss and throw a spell over her head. The illusion Hermione did just that, running past Weiss into another crowd of students and sending a bright purple spell over the witch's head.

With incredible reaction time, Weiss dove and rolled into another crowd of students and turned to where the spell had come from, ready to attack the person who had sent it at her. Hermione's illusion was already gone though and before Weiss had anytime to look for it she ordered another one of her thought projections to run behind Weiss again and throw another spell over Weiss's head.

Her second illusion repeated what the first had done and Weiss once again was diving and looking for the source of the spell. Hermione knew she could only do this for so long, eventually Weiss would catch on that none of the spells were hitting her. Keeping her eyes on the French champion, whose back was currently turned from Hermione, she left her corner and made her way over to the first staircase.

Weiss was scanning the crowds of the students maniacally but thankfully hadn't seemed to find anything yet. Hermione pointed and aimed her wand. " _Confringo,"_ she whispered the spell out and just as it left her wand she slipped into the stream of students walking on the second floor towards the other staircase. To keep Weiss from turning around she ordered another one of her illusions to run in front of Weiss this time.

Weiss immediately cast a red colored spell into the crowd but Hermione did not wait to see if it had managed to hit her illusion. Hermione's _confringo_ spell collided with the back of Weiss and her robe's were immediately engulfed in flames. Taking advantage of the chaos and her stealth she aimed her wand at the French witch again.

" _Reducto,"_ she whispered out the spell again before slipping back into the crowd of students walking the second floor balcony.

Her _confringo_ spell had worked perfectly. Weiss struggled briefly to get her fiery robes off and even from where Hermione was walking she could see the girl had some minor burn marks on her now bare arms. As soon as Weiss managed to put out the fire she was nailed in the back again, this time by Hermione's powerful blast spell. Weiss was sent flying twenty feet across the hall where she collided with the wall with a loud thud and a grimacing snap.

Weiss screamed out into the hall in pain, causing Hermione to briefly flinch. The scream was only momentarily though, in a second the girl was back on her feet, her eyes scanning the hall again. In Weiss's current position she would be able to see Hermione's spell coming from the second floor, so Hermione was forced to hold off on casting for the moment. She needed to draw the girl back into the middle of the main hall where she could attack unseen from multiple sides.

Weiss seemed to be holding her ground though and stood with her back against the castle's brick wall and seemed to be mumbling a few spells quietly. Hermione her another loud snap followed by another scream from Weiss as the girl's lips stopped moving.

 _Guess she fixed whatever had broke._

Hermione turned and walked back to the other side of the second floor, making sure that she kept moving to avoid being seen. Weiss remained planted though, and the longer they stood like that the more nervous it made Hermione. Going back to her old plan, she ordered one of her thought projections on the other side of the hall to crouch and send a spell towards Weiss.

A bright yellow spell spun through the illusions as it made its way across the hall and Weiss was once again on the move. Hermione watched as the French girl made her way back towards the center of the hall and cast a spell that Hermione couldn't hear. Hermione ordered another illusion to run past Weiss and try to get her turned around.

Weiss turned right on cue, unfortunately not in the direction Hermione had been hoping; instead Weiss ignored her thought projection and her eyes went straight towards where Hermione was walking. Before Hermione had time to register how on earth Weiss had managed to find her the French girl had sent a massive blue ball of flames right at her.

Hermione dove to the floor as the ball of flame burst on the ceiling over her head and drops of blue flames starting raining down around her. She rose quickly back up to her feet and moved away from the raining flames, trying to disappear back in the crowd of students. Hermione was nervous that she would be unable to find Weiss again, but the blonde girl had made herself easy to spot as she sprinted across the hall towards the staircase she had entered the main hall from. Hermione couldn't let Weiss make it up the stairs, she needed to maintain the high ground for as long as she could.

" _Glisseo!"_ she pointed her wand at the stairs just as Weiss reached them and they all rapidly turned into a large ramp that Weiss slid quickly back down to the bottom. Hermione aimed her wand at Weiss and was just about to throw another blast spell the witch's way when Weiss disappeared. One second she had been there and the next she was gone.

A soft popping noise echoed through the hall behind her and Hermione turned around.

" _Schneezzard!"_ The blonde witch cast the snow blizzard blast spell towards her with a rage and Hermione was rocketed backwards in the wake of the chilled blast. A chill went over her body and her teeth started chattering as her body went numb from the cold and was flung backwards down the ramped staircase. The blast had knocked the wind out of her and she was finding it hard to compose herself as she slid chaotically down the ramped stairs. " _Glacia sagitas!"_ shouted Weiss from up the staircase.

Hermione heard Weiss's second spell but was sliding so uncontrollably down the stairs there was nothing she could do about it. A few ice arrows planted themselves in the ramp around her and Hermione was hopeful they had all missed her.

She wasn't so fortunate though. As her body collided with the floor of the main hall two arrows pierced through her left hand, causing her to scream out into the hall in agony. A few splotches of purple entered her vision as she looked up the staircase at Weiss, who now had the high ground. Hermione mentally ordered all of her remaining illusions to fire spells up at the French girl, hopefully making her hesitate long enough to let Hermione slip into the crowd of students and regain her composure.

Eight bright balls of magic flew from around the hall towards Weiss, who thankfully threw up a quick shield, giving Hermione just enough time to unpin her hand from under the two arrows and get to her feet and move back into the crowd of students. Hermione heard another soft pop and looked up to the top of the stairs where Weiss no longer was.

 _How stupid were we to not think that some of the older students would be able to apparate._ She screamed internally at herself as her eyes darted around the hall. The pain in her hand was throbbing and making it immensely difficult to concentrate. She ordered all of her illusions to start running around the hall, hopefully one of them would draw Weiss out.

Weiss remained hidden though and Hermione's nerves grew. She slowly crept around the hall trying to catch a glimpse of Weiss before she found the real Hermione.

" _Aisuterra!"_ Hermione heard the spell cast from somewhere in the hall, but she couldn't pinpoint where exactly. The spell was a smart one. The entire floor of the main hall turned to ice, making it extremely difficult to walk without slipping. She had to do something, at this rate Weiss would beat her, even with Hermione's strong start.

" _Incendius maximus!"_ She ordered all of her illusions to cast illusions of the same spell along with her. The hall's floor was covered in flames, some real and most not. The intense heat of Hermione's flames quickly melted a large portion of the ice covering the floor, allowing her to once again move easier. She caught a brief glimpse of the glimmer of a shield spell on the other side of the hall and sprinted closer towards it.

" _Rensa maho,_ " she whispered the chain magic spell out and spun in a circle as she arrived near the center of the hall, whipping the chain in a large circle around her. Hermione felt her chain collide with something and a moment later heard a loud slam as the weight in her chain got lighter. She turned to the source of the collision and saw Weiss collecting herself off the ground only a few feet away, looking quite beaten up in between the bruns and bruises showing on her skin.

" _Displodo!"_ Hermione shouted out the blast spell this time, tired of hiding and wanting to put much more power behind it. She ordered more of her thought projections to start moving as her spell soared towards Weiss.

" _Aisufury!"_ Weiss countered Hermione's blast spell without moving or hesitation. Hermione held her spell open and their spells met in the middle of the hall before exploding into a powerful release of magic, sending snow and scraps of the main halls floor everywhere. Hermione was knocked backwards but rose to her feet quickly and pushed back forwards.

" _Stupefy, reducto, rubyflamen!"_ As she pushed forward she threw a stunner followed by a powerful blast chain into the dust and snow towards where Weiss had been.

" _Protego totalum!_ " She could not see Weiss but she heard her spells collide with the witch's shield. Hermione continued to push through the snow and dust until she burst through the other side and saw Weiss limping in front of the staircase on the other side of the hall.

" _Stupefy!"_ Hermione threw the spell towards the French champion who had only now just realised Hermione had closed in on her. With another soft pop sound Weiss disappeared from the bottom of the stairs. Hermione closed her eyes and listened for the second pop. She heard it, just barely, from somewhere behind her. Without hesitation she turned and sprinted towards it.

She had to push through more dust and snow to get there but eventually she made it to the other side of the hall. Her eyes went wide and a smile crept over her face at what she saw. Weiss was right next to the dining hall door, and she was slowly limping towards it. Hermione licked her upper lip, crossing her fingers over her wand, and praying to the magic gods again to help her out as she watched.

In what Hermione guessed was an attempt to hide and recover Weiss opened the two large doors of the dining hall with her wand, thus triggering Hermione's trap. With a loud bang Hermione watched the string on the door explode and Weiss's body fly across the main hall. The French girl's body collided with the wall on the other side with a gut wrenching crack and fell to the ground limp.

Without hesitation Hermione sprinted to the girl, not taking a risk that she might be able to still get up and duel.

" _Stupefy, expelliarmus!"_ At point blank range she stunned Weiss and caught her wand, officially ending their duel.

 _She beat her! She had fucking beat her!_

Hermione fell to her knees, exhausted and in pain. The holes in her hand throbbing even more now as the adrenaline from the duel quickly wore off. Her breath was heavy, and catching it was immensely difficult. She was sweating profusely and had taken a few too many hits during the chaos of the duel but, still, the smile from moments earlier had remained on her face.

That had been one of the hardest duels of her life but she had somehow managed to pull a victory out of it, even if it had been a little too close for comfort. Never again would she let anyone tell her that she thought about things too much or that she over planned things. Her planning and overthinking had won her that duel.

"Ow!" she groaned out again as the pain in her hand grew worse. She had to do something to mend the wound or wrap it. The two gaping holes were bleeding profusely and if she left them untended she would be a goner in the next duel for sure. Next to her on the ground Weiss's body slowly vanished and Hermione guessed that meant she had been officially eliminated from the task. Hermione stood up slowly from her knees, her legs shaking a little as she did so.

The main hall looked pretty chaotic at the moment. The floor was a mixture between dust, rocks, ice and snow and even a few blast marks from spells dotted the walls. If someone else stumbled in here they would definitely be on high alert and looking for someone. If she was going to treat her hand she needed to do it somewhere other than here.

She sunk into a line of students and followed them down the hallway a ways before she came to a girl's bathroom that she was familiar with. Hoping that there would be some toilet paper inside that she could transfigure into bandages to treat and wrap her wound she opened up the door and headed inside. With a loud click the door closed behind her and locked automatically.

"Oh come on," she groaned out as she looked out into the bathroom and saw that she was not alone. In fact it was the quite the opposite.

A large club came sweeping across the bathroom smashing through each of the stalls like a knife through butter. Shards of wood flew into the air as each stall chaotically burst into nothing. Hermione only just barely managed to dive onto the floor before the club crashed into the wall over her head.

 _Of course the one bathroom I go into in this God forsaken castle has two mountain trolls in it._

"Of fuck oh fuck oh fuck!" she bellowed out as a second club was being swung towards her spot on the bathroom floor. Like a rock rolling down a hill she rolled across the floor with as much speed as she could just out of the impact of the second club. Her legs were still feeling like jelly, so getting up to her feet quickly was tough. By the time she was back up on her feet the first club was being slung towards her again. Her normal reaction was to throw up a shield spell, unfortunately magical shield spells did little to nothing against non-magical clubs.

She ducked and bolted from her spot, just barely managing to dodge the club and not run into the other troll in the tight quarters of the bathroom. A few of the sinks and toilets that had been hit by the club of one of the trolls were now spewing water out all over the place, soaking her and the floor of the bathroom with water. The second troll had finally realised that his first swing had missed her and was slowly rearing up for another swing.

" _Accio_ water!" Hermione bellowed out the summoning spell, pulling all of the spraying water in the room into a large ball at the room's center. With careful concentration she moved the flowing ball of water towards the second troll who stopped his swing to cover his face as the ball of water engulfed him.

The troll did not enjoy being drowned in the ball of storming water currents and began to frantically wave his arms around. Hermione quickly realised trying to drown a troll in a small bathroom had been a mistake. In its panic the troll's frantic arm and club flailing managed to hit literally everything in the bathroom. After banging all of the mirrors, stalls, and sinks with a mighty swing the troll's club also managed to even collide with the other troll.

As the other troll became annoyed from being hit with a club Hermione ended her summoning spell before the frantic troll managed to accidently hit her. Hermione's hand was pulsating with pain and she was starting to feel dizzy from the loss of blood. She needed to end this altercation with these two trolls quick before she lost too much more blood.

With a deep breath she calmed herself and focused her magic intently. She scanned the room for anything that would work for her next strategy. After finding a large shard of one the mirrors near her foot that would suffice she raised her wand and cleared her mind of all the chaos in the room. " _Aevuminfintorro!"_ She fell to her knees as her time-based magic spell drained her magical core intensely.

The large shard of mirror appeared in between the heads of the two trolls before it shot off through the first troll's head to its next determined location. This time magic spell was the same one she used on the minotaur in the first task. The spell caused its target, in this case the shard of mirror, to travel through time at intense speeds from one location to the other. Just like with the minotaur those locations happened to be on the other sides of the trolls' bodies.

Large spurts of blood shot onto the walls of the bathroom and unfortunately a few even managed to land on her as the shard of mirror gutted the two trolls. With two loud thuds the limp bodies of the trolls fell to the floor and Hermione ended her spell. Another wave of relief came over her as she caught her breath. Trolls were not the mightiest of opponents to face but using that time spell was about the most magically demanding spell she could cast. After a duel with Weiss, dodging troll clubs, and casting that spell she was exhausted.

After she had caught her breath she got back up to her feet and scanned the bathroom. Any hope of using transfigured toilet paper to wrap her wounds was gone. All of the toilet paper had fallen prey to the water still currently filling the bathroom. With little to no other options Hermione waded through the water over towards the trolls. One of the trolls was wearing a straw vest. Hermione cut a small portion of the vest off and carefully transfigured it into a wrap.

She grimaced in pain as she wrapped her wounded hand up in the uncomfy straw wrap. For now the bleeding had been stopped, however, she had already lost more blood than the average person should lose. Her vision had a few splotches in it and she was feeling very dizzy. The water level in the bathroom was quickly rising so Hermione made her way back over to the door. Thankfully the door opened without any trouble.

" _Absorbulus!"_ As Hermione entered back into Durmstrang's hallway before she could so much as blink she was hit with a bright green spell and her body was sent flying down the hall. She tried to throw up a shield spell but no words left her mouth. The spell had hit her like a train and all of the breath in her body had been knocked out. Unable to raise herself to her feet yet all she could do was raise her head to try and see who had hit her with the spell.

"You sure do make a lot of racket," Fleur Delacour shouted down the hall with her usual bright smile. "First all of that noise in the main hall then here in the bathroom. What was in there anyways? Sounded like you were fighting something big."

"Trolls," Hermione gasped out the words as her breath slowly returned to her. "You were in the main hall too? Why didn't you help out Weiss?" Hermione asked, curious to know why Fleur hadn't helped her teammate duel Hermione.

"Unfortunately I missed out on you and Weiss's duel. All I saw was the damage done and you running down the hall. Congrats on beating her by the way, Weiss was probably our best duelist."

"Thanks," Hermione breathed out heavily. "I take it you're not gonna be a good friend and just let me win huh?" Hermione asked with a smile. Hermione and the French girl had become good enough friends this year for Hermione to know that the odds of Fleur letting her win something like this even if they were good friends was zero.

"You guessed right! I will be a good enough friend though to let you get back up to your feet before I cast my next spell though," Fleur replied with another smile.

"Someone is confident," Hermione quipped as she braced herself and rose back up to her feet. She was feeling even more exhausted than she had earlier.

"Of course I am. Ready?" Fleur asked her as she raised her wand.

"Ready -" Hermione replied and raised her wand. For a second both of them just stood there, waiting for the other to cast the first stone.

" _Stupefy._ "

" _Protego, expelliarmus!_ "

" _Confrigo_!"

" _Aguamenti_!"

" _Obscuro, stupefy, locomotor mortis_!"

" _Erecto, petrificus totalus!"_

" _Stupe. . ._ Hermione tried to cast the stunning spell but failed. Her body felt empty, like she had zero energy and magic left in the tank. Like trying to squeeze the last drop of water out of a bottle her body tried to get the spell off but when it failed she collapsed onto the floor with exhaustion.

"I'm impressed you managed to get that many spells off," Fleur commented as she slowly walked over to where Hermione was on the ground.

"Why? How?" Hermione panted, each word hurt like ice in her throat.

"That little green spell I hit you with when you left the bathroom, that's my signature spell, the magic draining spell I created. I hit you with it as soon as I saw you and ever since it's been draining your magical energy into me. I couldn't risk you casting any of your crazy time magic spells could I? I wouldn't have stood a chance if you had the energy to get a few of them off," Fleur replied.

"Damn," Hermione hissed through heavy breaths. That explained why she had been unable to cast the stunning spell and why she had run out of juice so quick. "You just had to get me back for beating you in the summer dueling tournament didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. I couldn't think of a better time than today to get even." Fleur kneeled down next to her. "Still friends?"

"Still friends," Hermione tried to smile but was only able to get up a half smile through the pain and exhaustion.

"Good." Fleur smiled at her. "I promise if I find Marik or Harry I'll tell them you said hello."

"They might not be too happy to see you today."

"Oh come on, you guys are always happy to see me!" Fleur laughed, Hermione was too in pain to reply and just gave another half-attempt at a smile.

"I'll see you after the task Hermione."

"Yeah, see you after the task. Good luck Fleur, I'm rooting for Harry and Marik obviously but if somehow it comes to you and Durmstrang, I am pulling for you."

"Thank you Hermione, that means a lot. If it comes down to Hogwarts and Durmstrang I'll be pulling for Hogwarts too. For now though, I'm sorry for this - _Stupefy!"_

* * *

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	65. Book4: Chapter 19

**Marik**

"Oh come on!" he groaned out as he found himself once again walking into a large, dust covered broom closet. Beauxbatons castle was the most annoying place Marik had ever been to in his life-by far. Not only was this place way too big for any normal school to be, the layout of the floors and the rooms made about as much sense as a troll reading poetry.

Beauxbatons was more like a palace than a castle and Marik had zero experience navigating palaces. So far in the final task he had encountered at least sixteen gardens, eleven fountains, forty-one chandeliers, and at least a dozen enormous stone-carved statues; all of which where way too extravagant looking to be inside a school. Any other day he might have appreciated the sights and opulence the French school provided, today, however, he was ready to just burn the whole damn place down to the ground. That would potentially make finding his way to his friends a hell of alot easier.

The Durmstrang Headmaster was evil, to say the least; not only had the Headmaster started Marik off in a castle that he had never been to before, but the evil Headmaster had also put a twist on this task by seemingly enchanting every door in the French castle to lead to some other random place in the castle, which had made trying to learn his way around pretty much impossible.

Marik had yelled at himself a number of times for not bringing a watch along with him. He guessed by around this point in the final task he had been roaming around aimlessly for at least two hours. In that two hours the only excitement he had so far was a sneeze that had caught him off guard.

Marik had begun the task out on the grounds of the castle, next to the many large greenhouses and farming patches of Beauxbatons. His immediate plan from the start had been to make it to the main hall of the castle. That plan had quickly been shelved though; either Beauxbatons had no main hall or if it did than it could only be found by opening some random door in the castle that he had yet to find.

He had found enough broom closets in the school by this point to house every broom ever made it felt like. He would open one door, enter a broom closet, open the broom closet's door and end up back in another random part of the castle. By this point in the task this process had been repeated at least fifty times and needless to say Marik's patience was running thin.

He was honestly hoping that Harry or Hermione would just win the task already and save him from this torment. The competitive side of him was craving action but the impatient side in him was quickly winning the battle and was begging for this task to come to a close already. He would like to think that he would still be able to find his friends, but if things continued at this rate he knew that it was about as likely as Snape wearing a pink tutu to potions class.

Beauxbatons had been as quiet as a dead mouse the entire task. There had not been so much as a whisper heard in the castle's halls, let alone the sound of spells being fired off. He couldn't help but wonder if the other two castle's had been just as quiet and if his friends were having as rough a time as he was. During their preparations they had predicted before the task that they would most likely all find themselves starting off in a different castle. Marik had been confident that he would be the one to end up at Hogwarts and kept his fingers crossed the entire time in the tent before the task started; that obviously had not happened though.

Knowing how lucky he was always was Harry had probably been the one to get Hogwarts, which meant that Hermione had probably ended up in Durmstrang; so that meant both of his friends were better off than he was. They all had the same initial plan; to find each other as quickly as possible. So, regardless of how frustrating ending up in the same broom closets over and over again was, Marik had to put his impatience aside and continue forward with the plan.

Presently he seemed to be on one of the higher floors of the castle, in what looked like a hallway similar to the classroom hallways of Hogwarts. Large, intricately carved wooden doors lined the sides of the halls and spinning crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling in between each set of doorways.

The steady stream of illusion students ignored all of the rooms along the side of the hallway here, just as they did throughout the rest of the castle. Instead, they marched in their patterns down the center of the hall in a constant flow. Marik mosied over into the center line of students and marched at a steady pace along with them further down the hallway. He knew that he had been on this floor before, the one good thing about Beauxbatons 'palace' was that the immaculate statues dotted throughout the castle each looked a little different than one another; they had been the only reason he had any idea at any point of where he might be in the castle.

So far he knew bald guy holding bow was the third floor, hot girl with harp was fifth floor, and weird fat guy with cake was on the second floor. He was currently passing bald guy with bow so that meant he was somewhere on the third floor of the castle. He had checked a number of the doors on the side of the halls on this floor, all of which had a thin slash at the bottom of the door to let him know he had been inside them before. With no better strategies for finding the main hall of Beauxbatons or his friends presently in mind his current plan was to just continue marking and opening doors. Eventually he had to get lucky-right?

The stream of students turned their path in accordance with the bending of the hallway, leading into another long hall of classrooms. None of these doors had marks on them yet so Marik headed to the first new door on the right, checking over his shoulders for any sudden movements as he broke free from the line of illusions.

" _Defodio,"_ he whispered out the digging spell, carving a thin line at the bottom of the door. Satisfied with his mark, he grasped the handle of the door and let himself inside.

To say that he was surprised was an understatement. For once opening a classroom door had actually led to a classroom. Whether or not this was the actual classroom the real door led to or not he didn't know but still; he was just happy he hadn't ended up somewhere out on the grounds again or another freaking dusty closet.

As exciting as opening up a classroom door and actually ending up in a classroom was, being here didn't help him win the task. With an impatient groan he turned back to the door, allowing himself a sigh as he did so, knowing that upon its opening he could end up anywhere in the castle. That didn't happen though, the door wouldn't budge. He pulled on the handle harder, twisting the knob as he did so. The door remained fixed though.

"Oh fuck me! This task blows! Sorry Harry, Hermione-I couldn't help you win the task because I got stuck in a Beauxbatons potions classroom! The good news is I finished my potions end of year project though!" he quipped to himself. He pulled on the door again, harder this time but it still didn't budge. He raised his wand at the door and took a step back.

" _Alohomora!"_ he cast the unlocking spell at the lock on the door. Instead of the clicking sound a lock makes when it is unlocked a loud _thud_ panged in the room behind him. Marik turned to face the sound, a nervous shiver running down his skin.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me. EEK!" he screamed out, a less than manly-scream as a potions flask flew inches away from his face and smashed on the door behind him, sending shards of glass everywhere. "What the bloody hell!" he shouted out into the room. Two more potions flask and a large caldron where now hovering in the air, a few feet above their tables. Marik swallowed a loud, nervous _gulp_ as he watched them hover.

Like rockets the cauldron and flasks shot off towards him. Without any hesitation he bolted from his spot in front of the door and started sprinting around the room, dodging shards of glass and potion fluids as the objects barely missed him and collided with the parts of the room behind him. One after another more and more objects came flying after him and loud crashes of glass reverberated throughout the room as he ducked and dodged.

"Fuck-Oww!" he moaned out in pain as a large shard of glass hit his wrist, leaving a large gash and a lot of blood in its wake. "Screw this! _Finite incantatum!"_ he bellowed out the spell, slowing the movement of everything flying across the classroom towards him. "Whew," he sighed as he took a moment to catch his breath. He only had a moment to relax, however, as three of the large cupboards lining one side of the classroom began to shake and quickly march towards him.

"Oh no you don't! _Reducto!_ " he shouted the blast spell out, aiming for the center cupboard. He had put enough power behind the spell for its explosion to damage the other two cupboards as well, hopefully. His blast spell collided with the cupboards, filling the room with chunks of wood and sawdust as it exploded outwards. A loud scream filled the room as the sawdust and wood floated down to the ground.

Marik tried to cover his ears with his hands as the shrill scream died down. It was nearly impossible to see in the room through all of the dust. He strained his eyes and squinted; he could barely make out three large, black-hooded figures through the dust and falling wood. As the final sounds of the scream rang through his ear the three black figures shot from their spots and to Marik's surprise began flying around the room in a chaotic frenzy. With his wand raised he watched them fly about and immediately recognized what the figures were-they were dementors.

He was more than familiar with dementors. The dementors of Azkaban had been placed around Hogwarts for a large portion of last year and Marik had watched the creatures a number of times. The way their bodies and cloaks moved through the room like a foggy-smoke was also something he was more than familiar with. The smoke of their robes and the dark auror they emitted looked just like his robes did whenever he moved quick enough. No matter how many times you saw them it never dimmed the impact they held on you. They were truly terrifying creatures, like the stuff out of a horror film.

The three dementors bounced around the room, their trails of smoke extinguishing what little light remained, leaving him in darkness. _Of course I come across the one creature I suck at fighting against._ He took a second to calm himself, at the moment the dementors weren't paying him any mind so that gave him a little time to ready himself for the patronus spell; a spell that to this day he had never once successfully cast.

He concentrated back on their lessons of the spell. The patronus spell requred immense concentration, near perfect wand movements, and most importantly-an overwhelming sense of happiness to cast successfully. He briefly closed his eyes, trying to think of a memory that brought him happiness. An image of Hogwarts up on the hill, across the water of the great lake came to mind. A memory of his first year's boat ride, when his magical life truly began. He allowed the smile that came along with the memory to cross his face as he raised his wand towards the center of the room.

" _Expecto-patronum!"_ he shouted the spell out, putting all of his might behind it. Nothing-not even a wisp of magic left his wand though. "Oh come on! _Expecto patronum!_ " he tried again-but still-nothing.

He was expecting the dementors to swarm him now. There was no way they had not heard him shout out the two spells out into the classroom. He waited anxiously-ready for their attack and ready to try to make a quick escape out of the room. Nothing happened though, the three dementors just continued to ignore him and swarm around the room chaotically, like birds trapped in a cage.

 _Huh._ He thought to himself, scratching his head at the current predicament. _Why weren't they coming after him? Maybe dementors don't have ears?_ He thought for a few moments, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Wait a sec-" he whispered as the information he had learned over the years on the dark creatures came to mind. _Dementors feed upon human happiness, causing depression to anyone near them. Getting close to a dementor can result in every good feeling or happy memory being drained right out of you._ He remembered the lesson from their dark arts class.

He didn't feel depressed at all though, maybe a little a frustrated from still not being able to cast a patronus but not depressed. He still had happy memories too, and there was three dementors circling the room around him; that meant their effects should be three times as bad. They weren't though. He felt fine and none of the dementors seemed to have any interest in giving him their kiss or sucking his soul out of him.

These couldn't be dementors then; if not dementors then what where they. He scratched his chin again. _Hmmm . . ._ "Boggarts!" he called out into the room, having landed on an idea. It made perfect sense. Boggarts could take the form of almost anything in the world. They could look just like a dementor, only without the deadly side effects. The three dementors had come out of cupboards too, which also made sense. Boggarts were known to hide in small dark places like closets and cupboards.

It was a little a odd though still. He was surprised that his boggart would reveal itself as a dementor. No one knew what boggarts actually looked like, they always took the form of whatever you feared the most. Sure dementors were scary looking but Marik could think of a lot of things he was more scared of then dementors. To be honest he wouldn't even say he was scared of dementors; if anything he was fascinated by them. That had been the whole reason he had tried to make his robes resemble the robes of a dementor in the first place.

Back in their second year his boggart had been a giant bee, which everyone had promptly made fun of him for and he had spent weeks trying to explain how terrifying the hellish flying bugs could be.

He had come across another boggart in a supplementary lesson with Kingsley sometime last year too. That time the boggart had turned into his dead body, surrounded by his family and friends' bodies. He found it a little unlikely that since then his deepest fear had turned into something like a dementor. Still-these things certainly didn't seem to be real dementors which meant a boggart was the next best thing.

" _Riddikulus!_ " he cast the spell towards one of the dementor-boggarts. The spell collided with the dementor, who proceeded to give another loud scream. Nothing besides that happened though. The dementor stopped screaming after a few seconds and then just continued to glide around the classroom as if nothing out of the sort had happened.

"Huh," he mumbled out as he scratched his head; none of this making any sense to him. _Well I guess that rules out boggarts then._ His mind immediately started trying to think of another possible answer. After a few seconds of thinking though he forced himself to stop. Finding the answer didn't help him win this task. He just needed to get out of this room, not find out what these dementors really were. Staying in here and trying to solve the puzzle only put himself and his friends at more of a risk.

Slowly he crept towards the door of the potions classroom, cautiously placing one foot in front of the other. The dementors, boggarts, garden gnomes, or whatever they really were, continued to ignore him. He made it all the way over to the door without so much as a twitch out of line from them. He tried to open the door again but failed as it still seemed to be tightly locked shut. He took a few steps back from the door and raised his wand.

" _Reducto!"_ he shouted out the blast spell. His spell collided with the door and sent another round of dust out into the air. When the dust settled he smiled as he could now once again see back out into the castle. The three dementors gave out another loud scream and Marik covered his ears again as they rushed through the newly opened door, out into the castle.

As the last trails of the dementor's smoke left the inside of the classroom Marik followed their path out into the castle. This time the door seemed to have led him to another crowded classroom hallway, much like the one he had just been in. He checked around in the immediate vicinity to see if any of the nearby doors had marks on them or if there were any large statues he recognized. None of the doors around him had any marks though, and the only statue in his sight was one that he had not yet seen.

That was a good thing-well, kind of. It meant that he had not been to this part of the castle before at least. He slipped into the line of marching student illusions and slipped out of the line as it approached a large window on one side of the hallway. He stopped and peered out of the window. Based on the view it appeared that he was on the first floor of the castle and that was definitely a good thing! The main hall had to be somewhere on this floor, although, knowing how crazy the layout of this place had been so far it would not have surprised him in the least to find out that the main hall was on the top floor. Everything else in this damn castle seemed ass backwards so why not that to.

He stepped back into the line of illusion students and walked along with them, making a mental note to remember skinny guy with staff was a statue on the ground floor. He wanted to follow the hallways on this floor for as long as he could before he started opening doors again. He had been trying to get to the first floor this entire time and wanted to check out as much of the floor as he could before moving on. The hall went on for a bit before turning at a right angle into another long, straight hallway.

This hallway, unlike the one he had just been in, had large mosaic windows lining one of its sides and a few doors dotted along the other side. Long, rolling hills of green grass and bright flowers could be seen out of the windows along with the occasional opulent fountain and bench on the grounds. Marik had not been on that part of the grounds yet either and would have to put a mental note to check it out later if all of his door searching turned up nothing.

"Thanks for leaving a trail of breadcrumbs," a voice whispered from somewhere behind him. Before Marik could even blink the hallway was filled a bright yellow light and in a flash something was colliding with his back, sending him flying like a bullet into the wall of the hallway. A reverberating crunch sounded as he hit the wall and ringing filled his ears. Marik could taste blood in his mouth.

With the help of the adrenaline coursing through his veins he fought through the scorching pain and lifted his head up; trying to make sense of the situation and get his head back on straight. His eyes followed a long trail of blood droplets on the ground that led down the hall. At the trail's end he could make out a figure walking towards him. His eyes were blurry from the collision with the wall but even through the blurs there was no way he would mistake that smug smile. It was Dedrick.

Marik cursed himself for allowing the bastard to get a hit on him. He was disappointed in himself for not noticing the Durmstrang champion right behind him. The blurriness in his vision disappeared as Dedrick crept closer and Marik pulled his gaze from the boy to himself as he tried to get to his feet.

Marik was currently sat in a large pool of his own blood. He searched his body over, looking for the source. His stomach was killing him, but there were no wounds anywhere on it. He could only guess that the crack he had heard before followed by the present pain there meant that he most likely broken a rib. The bleeding seemed to all be coming from his wrist, where the cut he had received from the glass in the potions classroom earlier seemed to have grown.

 _Oh god damnit Marik you are an idiot!_ He internally screamed at himself. _A trail of breadcrumbs._ He had been so caught up in the moment and in all of the adrenaline of the tournament that he had completely forgotten about the cut on his wrist. He had been bleeding down the hallway ever since he had left the classroom, literally leading Dedrick and anybody else right to him.

"That was a good hit-," he paused as the pain in his wrist grew and matched the severe pain level of his stomach. The adrenaline in his body seemed to be disappearing, making it hard not to shout out in pain. The cut was pretty deep and blood was dripping from his wrist at speeds and in amounts that did not make him feel good. He didn't want Dedrick to know how bad he was hurt though so he tried to mask his face with a confident grin and play it off. "You should have finished me off in one hit though, now you've missed your only chance."

"Oh I could have, and the thought did cross my mind. But what fun would finishing you off in a single attack be? No-I want to enjoy this," Dedrick bellowed down the hall, his annoying grin growing.

"Uh huh-right. Remind me, I forget-probably because I just banged my head on the wall, did you _enjoy_ our last duel?" Marik quipped as he finally pulled himself back up to his feet, making sure to return the boy's confident smile with one of his own. Dedrick's smile immediately vanished and was replaced by a look of annoyance that Marik could just eat up.

"You sure do talk big for a guy who is standing in a pool of his own blood."

"You sure do talk a lot for a guy nobody wants to listen to," Marik replied.

"Oh I can't wait to erase that smug little grin off your face," Dedrick growled.

"And I can't wait to watch you try. _Tarantallegra!_ " With a quick flick of his wand Marik started their dance, literally, with a forced dance spell. The spell was just a tease, meant to provoke Dedrick into going on the offensive. Marik knew the spell wouldn't make it anywhere near Dedrick, if it did the boy was about as bad of a dueler as one could get. Sure enough with a subtle swipe of his hand Dedrick banished the dancing spell away and sent three bright looking blast spells right back at Marik.

He rolled to his right to dodge the first blast spell that went whirling past him. As he completed his roll he pointed his wand towards the ceiling of the hallway in between the two of them. " _Gravitas, protego!"_ He quickly threw the gravity area spell up on the ceiling, which he would try and use later, before throwing up a strong shield just in time to block the next two blast spells.

" _Incarcerous maximus!"_ Dedrick shouted out the powerful ropes spell, sending a couple dozen ropes flying towards him.

" _Impedimenta, reducto!"_ He countered Dedrick's ropes with his slow-movement spell first and followed it up with the strong _reducto_ blast spell to blast the slow moving ropes aside.

" _Restituo_ , _reducto!"_ Without hesitating in the slightest Dedrick shouted out two more spells.

The first spell was the nullifying magic spell, which Dedrick aimed at the spot on the ceiling where Marik had cast the gravity spell removing his magic. The second spell caught Marik a little off guard. Instead of aiming the blast spell at Marik, Dedrick aimed the spell towards the large windows lining the hallway. In a reverberating clash all of the glass in each window shattered loudly and thousands of shards of glass fell onto the floor of the hallway.

Before even the last few shards of glass clanged to the hall's floor Dedrick was whipping his wand around, levitating hundreds of shards off the ground into the air. Like light on a disco ball the light from outside was reflecting off the hundreds of floating glass pieces as Dedrick summoned them and sent them flying towards Marik.

"Oh fuck! _Deprimo, protego totalum_!" Marik shouted out the two spells to counter Dedrick before ducking his head down. His first spell, the wind gust spell, sent a large chunk of the glass back towards Dedrick. A lot of the shards still made it through his spell however, thankfully his shield held on long enough to protect him.

"I'm surprised you haven't run into your shadows yet? You know it's the only way you can win duels!" Dedrick snorted down the hallway.

"And what would someone like you know about winning duels?" Marik retorted, trying to poke the bear a little more.

"Well I won against Alina; quite overwhelmingly too if I remember correctly. Though I guess beating someone on her low of a level isn't really saying too much."

"You got lucky against Alina and you would be even luckier to be anywhere near her level," Marik argued. He couldn't believe Dedrick was bringing Alina into this. _I told you this guy was an ass Alina!_

"Whatever you say! _Fulminous!_ " Dedrick bellowed out the lightning beam spell, sending a wave of roaring yellow light towards Marik.

" _Bedeculum!"_ Marik cast the bending spell and bent it away from him towards the broken windows to his right, sending a wave of lightning crashing onto the grounds of the castle. " _Expulso!"_ He aimed his explosion spell at the feet of the Durmstrang champion.

" _Finite incantatum, incendio!"_ After cancelling Marik's blast spell out Dedrick followed his spell up with a powerful fire spell.

" _Aguamenti!"_ Marik shot the water jet spell right towards the incoming flames, filling the hallway with steam. " _Stupefy, expelliarmus!"_ Marik couldn't see a thing through all of the steam but sent the two spells after Dedrick just to keep him busy.

" _Deprimo-"_ Marik heard Dedrick shout out two spells, but was only able to make out the first one before his ears were filled by the booming sound of wind flying past his ears. All of the steam in the room flew past him into the hall behind him.

" _Protego!"_ Marik threw up a shield to block whatever other spell Dedrick had sent. No spell hit his shield, something had certainly hit him though. In an instant his entire body was sent into a state of shock as his insides felt like they were literally on fire. Sweat began pouring out from his pores as Marik fell to his knees, unable to keep himself standing upright in all of the pain.

His hands were shaking fiercely and water was streaming from his eyes like a flood. This pain was excruciating. His eyes fell down to the floor and out of the corner of his vision he caught sight of the open wound on his wrist. An enormous amount of blood was pouring from the wound.

The blood wasn't flowing like blood from a cut did normally-no, the blood was bubbling out of his wound like lava from a crack in the ground does. _What the hell kind of spell had he been hit with?_

" _Restituo!"_ Through clenched teeth Marik cast the magic nullifying spell on himself. A shaky breath left his mouth as the pain inside him vanished. His hands were still shaking from the pain before and the water in his eyes remained.

"Something wrong?" Dedrick chuckled, causing Marik to lift his head and stare down the Durmstrang champion.

"I am so glad you and Alina are done so I don't have to feel guilty about what I'm about to do to you," Marik stammered in between heavy breaths as he stood back up. Black spots were beginning to creep into his vision. He had lost a lot of blood and judging from the red floor expanding under his feet he probably couldn't afford to lose much more.

"Oh and what is it that you are going to do-bleed on me?" Dedrick chortled.

"You wanted to play dirty, I can play dirty too. _Episkey!_ " Marik aimed the minor healing spell at his wrist. The spell didn't do much, the wound was so deep and damaged that it was about as useful as plugging a dam with a bandaid. Hopefully, though, it would give him enough time to wipe the floor with this asshole.

"Bring it on bitch! _Tornusta!"_ Dedrick roared as he summoned a tornado in the middle of the hall between them. The remaining shards of glass that had fallen to the floor were picked up in the winds and were getting slung out of the vortex at high speeds across the hall.

" _Meteolojinx recanto!"_ Marik cast the spell that ended all weather effecting spells at the tornado. " _Acusio!"_ Marik quickly followed with the needle storm spell that Bellatrix had used on him back in his third year and Dedrick had tried to use on him during their duel in the first task.

" _Erecto maximo, expulso!"_ Dedrick was on his toes though and never let the needles get close. The Durmstrang champion first summoned up a large wall of rock up from the ground before blasting through it with a powerful explosion spell, sending a wave of large boulders flying back towards Marik.

" _Wingardium leviosa!"_ Marik locked his levitation spell onto the many incoming boulders and sent them flying through the open windows to his right, causing the hallway to shake a little as many of them broke through bits of the castle wall still in place. " _Diffindo!"_ Marik added the seam splitting spell to his combo, aiming up at the ceiling.

A large line began to snake its way from the center of the hallway towards Dedrick. The crack in the ceiling grew and grew until large pieces of the roof over Dedrick's head began to fall.

" _Aisuterra! Aisugungiru!"_ With an ice-make spell, Dedrick covered the cracked ceiling with ice, freezing Marik's _diffindo_ spell in place. With his second spell Dedrick utilized an ice spell that Marik had never used before. The spell summoned huge pillars of ice spikes from the ice on the ceiling that immediately shot off towards Marik at intense speeds, if any of them even touched him, at the speeds they were going this would not end well for him.

The ice was coming at him too fast, there was no way he could get more than one spell off casting normally. He closed his eyes and focused his magic into his arm, specifically into the _incendio_ rune-tattoo as he whipped his wand across his body and shouted out another spell " _fulminous!"_

With his dual-cast combo Marik successfully countered Dedrick's ice spikes. The silent usage of is rune-tattoo _incendio_ spell seemed to have caught Dedrick off guard. His powerful flames melted each of the large ice spikes, leaving only small streams of water and steam in their wake. Before the water could even make it to the floor of the hall it was being carried along by his lightning beam spell towards Dedrick, who was now forced to shield against fire, water, and lightning all at the same time.

" _Protego totalum!"_ Marik could hear Dedrick shouting out the shield spell just before a loud cracking sound echoed throughout the hall as his magic collided with the shield. This was his chance to change this duel and go on the offensive.

 _You wanted to play dirty, well it's time to play dirty. Alina, I hope you don't plan on trying to rekindle your relationship with this asshat, he might not look too pretty after this._ A smile crept over his face as he slashed his wand upwards. " _Lumos maxima, incarcerous!"_ Marik started off with the first two spells of a deadly combo that Alina had used on him a number of times. What better way to beat Dedrick than with a combo of Alina's creation.

A blinding white light filled the hall, rendering visuals practically useless. A dozen or so ropes also shot out of Marik's wand towards the other side of the hall where Dedrick was. In the blinding light it would be near impossible to actually hit Dedrick with the ropes but that wasn't the point of this plan.

Marik snagged one of the ropes leaving his wand and slid across the ground of the hall as the ropes pulled him towards where Dedrick would be. At the last second Marik changed the direction of his ropes towards the ceiling, pulling him high into the air of the hallway, flying inches away from the roof . With a slash of his wand he ended the _lumos_ spell, revealing a clueless Dedrick, staring blankly into the empty hallway, standing on the ground underneath him. The smile on his face grew even wider.

He didn't want to risk giving away his position so he again focused his magic his arm, silently sending out a bondy-bind spell with his rune-tattoo magic. He could not have asked for a better result. Dedrick had no idea where Marik was. His spell collided with the Durmstrang Champion and with a satisfying thud his body fell to the floor.

Marik winced a little as he too landed hard on the floor after his ropes had vanished. The severe pain in his stomach was only made worse by the hard landing. Not wanting to risk Dedrick having the chance to break the bind on him Marik stood up and pointed his wand at the bound boy.

" _Expelliarmus, levicorpus!"_ Dedrick's wand flew into his hands as Dedrick, still bound by the body-bind spell, was slung upwards into the air and hung upside down by his feet. With the largest grin of all day Marik limped over to the boy's hanging body and leaned close to the boy's face.

"Marik two-Dedrick zero. Better luck next time little guy-" Marik sarcastically patted Dedrick's upside down shoulder before raising his wand right up against Dedrick's forehead and pressing the wood hard into his skin, " _stupefy_!"

In a flash of light Dedrick's eyes closed and the boy fell limp to the ground, his face already swelling from the impact of the powerful stunner at point blank range.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ A voice shouted from somewhere behind Marik and in an instant his wand left his hands and soared down the hall behind him. The adrenaline from the duel with Dedrick was wearing off and the pain of his wrist and stomach compounded with the exhaustion of the duel had become too much for him to handle. He painfully turned his head to the source of the disarming spell as his legs gave out from under him and he dropped down to his knees on the floor.

"That was one hell of a show," the new voice in the hall said as it crept closer to him. Marik's vision was filled with so many black splotches and blurs he wasn't able to recognize the person until they were a mere feet away from him. It was one of Durmstrang's other champions, Rosa Westerwelle.

"Thanks," Marik barely managed to pant out. It was so hard to breath at this point; it felt as if he had inhaled shards of glass into his lungs. "You know I can cast wandless magic right?" He asked her with an attempt at a smug grin as she crept calmly closer to him.

"I know. You won't though," Rosa replied confidently, crouching down so that she was nearly eye level with him.

"Magic nullifying zone?" he asked her and received an affirmative nod.

"Placed it under you right after you knocked Dedrick out."

"Why didn't you help your friend out?" he asked her, curious to know the answer. If she had been able to place a nullifying spell around him that quickly after he knocked Dedrick out she had probably been watching at least the last portion of their duel.

"He isn't my friend. Dedrick is an ass and If his father wasn't my Headmaster I might have helped you stun him. Besides, I showed up a little too late to the party to give him any help," Rosa divulged much to Marik's surprise.

"Really? So I wasn't the only one who thought he was ass-ow," another shot of pain went through his body as he hunched over and coughed violnently into his hand. He couldn't tell if the blood in his hand had come from the wound on his wrist or from his cough. "Would it be too much to ask for you to go easy on me?" Marik asked through a half chuckle, it hurt too much to laugh.

"At this point you look like a flick might knock you out, so I don't think I have to go very hard on you," Rosa replied.

"Well then, flick away!" Marik quipped through another wave of violent coughs. "And good luck," he replied with a smile as his vision was filled with a bright flash of magic.

* * *

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	66. Book4: Chapter 20

**Harry**

The _tick tick tick_ of the small hand on the clock was beginning to drive him mad. He had sat motionless like a stone, staring at the wooden grandfather clock in the corner of their potions lab down in the dungeons of Hogwarts for nearly an hour now. He had spent probably more than eighty percent of his life at Hogwarts down in this potions lab and in that time had spent more than a few hours alone in the lab working on some assignment or another. Never in that all that time though had he ever really noticed how annoyingly loud the clock was. Today, in all of his anxiousness and nervousness, he had quickly become very ready to return to the real Hogwarts so that he blast the damned thing to pieces.

Before today he had always considered himself to be a very patient person. When his father and Sirius had long quidditch debates over the holidays Harry had been able to sit quietly by and wait out the conversation until it changed to something more interesting. When Hermione started a lecture about her time magic he was always patient enough to make it through the entire lecture without shouting out to her that he didn't understand a ounce of what she was talking about. And whenever Marik and Alina got into arguments over the merits and differences of cornbread versus sourdough he had always been patient enough to let the argument run its course before attempting to change the subject to a non-bread topic.

Sitting alone in the potions lab in silence-waiting alone on the sliver of a chance hope that either Hermione or Marik would be able to find their way to Hogwarts and to the potions lab was wearing his patience thin, and by this point in the final task he had just about run out of any scrap of patience he had left.

They had been prepping for this final task for what had felt like forever and he had been filled with a rush of adrenaline as the task finally came to a start. He had appeared, much to his delight, in the familiar courtyard of Hogwarts at the task's start. With his wand at the ready he had loaded up a dozen spells behind his lips and was ready for war. War had not come though, only silence, silence, and more boring damn silence.

Their potions lab was on the complete other side of the castle from the courtyard, so Harry had to trek across the entire castle to get there. He had been somewhat hopeful that he would run into someone along the way and get some early action, however, throughout the journey from the castle's courtyard to the dungeons he had not so much had as heard a peep from another champion. Even the illusion of Jeeves had been quiet as a kitchen mouse.

It had taken all of the mental strength left in him to remain tucked away in the potions lab to this point. With each loud _tick_ of the clock that decision to remain here had grown only harder. The task had been live for a little more than two hours by this time. He knew the odds of his friends making it to him by now where growing slimmer with each passing second and that it was near time to leave the confines of the potions lab behind, which was a very appealing notion at this point.

Thinking of Hermione and Marik out there, wandering the hallways of the other castles didn't do much to help calm his waning patience. Had his friends found other champions yet? Had Hermione found Marik yet? Where they still even trying to make it to him here at Hogwarts? These questions and thousands of others flooded his mind with each passing _tick_ of the dusty old grandfather clock _._ The questions tore at him the longer he thought of them. He was forced to close his eyes and pulse a bit of his mind magic in a desperate attempt to reorganize and calm his thoughts.

After a few moments of cooling himself off he opened his eyes. With a calmer and leveler head he turned his gaze from the oak door to the grandfather clock in the corner. For a few seconds his eyes just followed the smaller hand as it danced in its circle path. Harry Potter was a very patient person, but it was past time to be patient. It was past time to stay here in this room a second longer. Now, it was time to go to work.

In a flash he was off of his stool and cracking the thick oaken door of the potion's lab to peer out into the hallway of the dungeons. A thin stream of illusion students were still slowly making their way from one side of the hallway until they disappeared down at the other side. All seemed to checkout as normal and Harry tiptoed out from behind the door into the stream of students heading for the dungeon's stairs.

He was a drifting wayfarer at this point, walking with no real endpoint or goal in mind. He just wanted to find something, if that something was another school's champion good, he would beat them in a duel and get to have some fun; if that something was Hermione or Marik then even better. He remained in line with the illusion students throughout his travel. His hand was grasped tightly around his wand and his eyes darted around the halls of the castle, searching for anything that looked the least bit out of place.

The stream of students curled and weaved their way through a number of hallways and up and down a number of staircases until Harry found himself yet again on the other side of the castle. The entrance hall was only one hallway over from where he was and the Great Hall one hallway over from there. If Harry had learned anything in his many dueling lesson with his friends and professors over the years it was the importance of space in a duel.

Dueling in an area like the entrance hall or Great Hall would provide him a lot more legroom and peace of mind than dueling in a hallway such as the one he was in would. Harry was confident enough in his abilities to beat any of the champions in a one on one duel. However, he was not that confident in dueling in a crowded hallway such as this one where there was a number of objects and items that could be used against him. As the line of students turned towards the hallway leading to the entrance hall Harry tried to formulate a quick plan.

Wandering aimlessly like this could help him find someone quicker, which he desperately wanted, but it also put him in much more of a risk for dueling in a tight space or a disadvantageous position. Plus all of the illusions made it much more difficult to find someone,friend or foe, if he just kept walking. He could walk right past someone and very well never even know it. It would be smarter to make his way to the entrance hall or the Great Hall and try and lure an opponent their, or just lie in wait in a good vantage point, though he wasn't sure how much more sitting and waiting he could stand.

 _What would Hermione do if she were me?_ He found himself thinking as the students turned another corner. Hermione would probably go to the Great Hall if she had been in his shoes. The Great Hall, outside of the quidditch pitch, had the most open space of any place in Hogwarts. There was only one entry point into the Hall which made it much easier to spot someone when they walked in, plus with only one entry point setting up traps was made much easier. He could probably see everything in the hall from the teacher's table as well.

As much as Harry did not want to sit and wait again he knew that going to the Great Hall, at least for a little while, was his best strategy presently and was certainly a lot smarter than just walking around aimlessly waiting for something to happen. He needed to place the needs of winning over his own wants and needs. So for the sake of his friends and everyone cheering them on at Hogwarts he needed to be patient for a little longer and go to Great Hall.

Upon his arrival into the entrance hall he scanned the main staircase along with as much of the hall as he could see before he continued along with the students to the other side of the large room. All of the room checked out to be normal from what he could tell. Besides the absence of the sounds of students talking and portraits conversing among their frames everything seemed to be in place. He whispered out a magic and human reveal spell as he trudged along. Nothing came up in the room though and all was still clear.

The two large wooden doors of the Great Hall were currently propped open and a large portion of the students in the entrance hall were split between heading up the staircase at the entrance hall's center and towards the Great Hall. Even from his current position he could see that there was a large number of illusion students walking and sitting throughout the Great Hall. That was both a good and a bad thing for him. It provided him a great deal of cover to get inside and hide, but at the same time it also did the same thing for all of the other champions. With his wand at the ready he continued along with the line of students headed towards the Great Hall.

As soon as he passed the borderline of the doorway his animal instincts went into full effect and if he had hair on his neck he was sure it would have stood up. Both of the large wooden doors swung shut at speeds that rivaled a snitch and immediately two immense orbs of red magic were being flung in his general direction. In the blink of an eye Harry was diving to dodge both the swinging doors and the spells.

He dove under the nearest house table and his ears rang painfully as the two red spells collided loudly with the now shut wooden doors behind him. Now on full alert, Harry tried to scan the room from under the table, desperately trying to find the source of the spells. It was an impossible task to do when all you could see where the shoes and knees of people. Giving up on his search under the table Harry slowly lifted his just above the top of the table to look out over the hall.

Just as his eyes broke the table's surface another spell, what looked like a cutting spell, came slicing across the hall towards him again. Harry dove back under the table just before the spell collided with the wall behind him, shattering the glass of the tall stained window and sending it to the scatter across the floor around Harry.

He still had absolutely no idea who had cast the spell at him. All he knew at this point was that it had come from somewhere near the Slytherin table.

" _Humenum Revelio!"_ Harry quickly whispered out the spell as he pointed his wand towards the direction of the Slytherin table. His wand turned in his hands a little and tugged his arm towards the far corner of the Hall. That was all he had to work with at the moment, he would have to make it work. He paused for a brief second to collect his thoughts and breath before bursting upwards in a full sprint along the edge of the table.

" _Wingardium leviosa!"_ As soon as he got to his feet Harry levitated the long house table up into the air, spilling all of the plates, glass, and food onto the floor. Once he had the table in the air he slung his wand outwards and sent it flying across the Hall towards the Slytherin table.

" _Finite incantatum!"_ Harry heard the spell being uttered from across the Hall and just as the table fell in its place in the middle of the Hall, Harry saw Viktor Krum standing with his wand raised. "W _ingardium levimaxima!"_ As soon as the table dropped Viktor had levitated almost everything atop the Slytherin table into the air.

"Uh-oh," Harry muttered as hundreds of forks, knives, goblets, and plates were now coming towards him at high speeds. " _Impedimenta, wingardium leviosa!"_ thinking quickly, Harry slowed down the wave of objects in front of him and threw another table into the air between him and them. Loud thuds, clashes, and clatters echoed around the Great Hall as everything collided with the table and fell loudly to the floor.

" _Stupefy!"_ Another one of Viktor's spell casts echoed off the walls and Harry pointed his wand towards the corner where Viktor had been; only Viktor was no longer there. His neck on a swivel, Harry frantically searched the Hall for the new source of the spell. It was coming from above him. Flying around the ceiling of the room at high speeds was Viktor, who was now riding a broom at high speeds and raining stunners down at Harry.

" _Protego!"_ Harry only had a second to throw up a quick shield as the stunning spell collided with his shield. Hitting Viktor on the ground was a tough challenge. Hitting Viktor on a broom would be like trying to hit a nat with needle.

Harry had never been much of a quidditch person, much to his father and uncle's disappointment. Regardless of that he had grown up in the magical world long enough and spent enough time among quidditch fans to know a lot about the sport. Even he knew the reputation Viktor Krum had throughout the quidditch world. Most quidditch players don't make the pros until their twenties, Viktor had received professional offers in his third year at Durmstrang. If it had been any other student riding that broom Harry could have probably picked them off easy; hitting Viktor on the other hand would be near impossible.

Two more powerful stunners came falling from above as Viktor danced around the room. Harry was left to throw up another shield to block them both as he tried to think, which was something that was difficult to do when dodging stunners from above. Harry needed to at least try and keep Viktor busy or preoccupied while he tried to think of a way to knock the Durmstrang champion off his broom.

" _Reducto, expelliarmus, confringo!"_ Wildly, Harry threw the spell chain up into the air. He knew none of them would be able to hit Viktor but at least aiming them in his general direction would give Harry a few seconds to breath.

A few seconds was literally all Harry got as Viktor dove and spun to easily avoid all three spells. With a quick spin Viktor had turned his broom around and was now diving down towards Harry again. " _Incendio sagittas!"_ Viktor shouted out the spell as he dove and a dozen fire arrows materialized in the air and shot off towards Harry. With little time to react, all Harry could do was once again levitate one of the tables in front of him to block the arrows. Twelve loud thuds sounded as the arrows collided with the table and started a small fire in the Hall.

Still covered by the table Harry leaned out behind it and shot two more stunners towards Viktor who once again easily dodged them.

 _Come on Harry! Think you bloody fool think!_ He internally screamed at himself. Throwing up hopeless spell after hopeless spell was not going to get him anywhere. Hiding behind a table that was currently on fire at the moment to wasn't a great strategy either. He had to do something and he had to do it fast. What though?

Harry sprinted from out behind the table as another volley of spells came flying out of Viktors wand to the spot Harry had been seconds before. The table shattered into splinters of wood as Viktor's spells collided with it, sending small cinders of flame and wood out into the air. _Fire. . . Smoke. . ._ The idea slowly came to Harry's mind. _Smoke rises!_

" _Incendius maximus!"_ Harry screamed out the spell as he pointed his wand towards the remaining three tables in the hall. A large gust of flames screamed out of his wand out into the Hall, causing immediate drops of sweat to drip down Harry's brow. The fire engulfed each of the tables with a ferocity and within seconds the hall was ablaze..

Huge plumes of flame stretched into the air and licked at the ceiling of the Hall. The crackling of the flames roared like an angry demon as it devoured the long wooden tables, hanging banners, and benches. A thick, black cloud of smoke had already formed under the ceiling and was rolling down the walls of the Hall like black waves. Harry watched as Viktor weaved in and out of the flames, dodging each one like he would a bludger in quidditch practice. Harry took aim and was ready to start slinging spells at Viktor who was forced into lowering his descent to avoid the smoke.

" _TEMPESTA!"_ Viktor shouted out the weather spell in between his weaves and bends before Harry had time to so much as blink. The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall seemed to burst open as gallons of water fell like rain to the floor. Harry along with all of the flames in the Hall were immediately drenched and in seconds Viktor had countered Harry's plan.

Where smoke and flames had just been there was now water and steam. Viktor was once again soaring near the ceiling of the hall, the steam and rain not affecting him in the least bit. Plan A had been a quick failure and now Harry needed a quick Plan B or he would not be lasting much longer.

" _Stupefy, diffindo_!" Harry threw up two more spells at Viktor who once again easily dodged his spells. As Harry threw up another shield to block Viktor's spell counter he searched the Hall for anything that could help him. Nothing besides slinging food and tables at Viktor came to mind though and hitting Viktor with spells had just been made even harder as the rain and steam blocked his vision. Harry was sure his heartrate was starting to rise as he stood there, blocking Viktor's spells one after another.

 _What would Hermione do? What would Marik do?_ He tried thinking of what his friends would do again in his situation but that only made his heart race more. He couldn't think about them now. His friends would be focused on the duel at hand, not on eachother. His friends would do whatever it took to beat their opponent. Harry needed to do the same.

" _Aeriacta!"_ Harry sent the wind explosion spell up towards Viktor, hoping the wind explosion spell would push Viktor off his broom. The spell once again missed and collided behind Viktor on the ceiling of the hall, exploding with a boom that sounded like thunder as it did so. Viktor recovered quickly enough from his dodge and threw another spell towards Harry, forcing him to throw up a shield once again.

 _Thunder. . ._ Another idea was coming to mind as Harry's shield faded.

" _Rainovio!"_ Harry pointed his wand at the ceiling, just like Viktor had done moments earlier. The enchanted ceiling glowed for a few seconds before a bright bolt of lightning flashed and struck the ground of the Great Hall.

One after another bolts of lightning cracked downwards and thunder boomed off the walls of the Great Hall. Viktor was forced to navigate not only through rain and steam, but was now forced to dodge the random towers of lightning that were striking all around him. This seemed to keep Viktor occupied as Harry watched him dart around the Hall at immense speeds. This was Harry's chance.

" _Incarcerous, incarcerous, incarcerous, waddiwakka!"_ Harry cast three powerful waves of the rope spell followed by a sticking spell, aiming each wave at a different area of the Hall. Hundreds of ropes shot out from his wand and stuck themselves to the wall. This forced Viktor to dodge the ropes alongside the lightning and everything else. The fact that Viktor was still on his broom by this point was a testament to just how good of a flyer he was.

 _If you don't get a pro offer after this flying demonstration Viktor than you never will. I'll take my thank you for helping you put on this show later._ He thought to himself as another wave of lightning crashed onto the floor.

" _Wingardium leviosa!"_ Harry pointed his wand at the mass amount of objects on the floor that had previously been on the four house tables. He put a lot of power behind the spell and lifted as much as he could off the ground. With a grunt he threw it all up towards the ceiling.

Viktor may have been a good flyer, but nobody could have hoped to dodge everything going on in the room. Viktor managed to dodge the bolts of lightning, he managed to even dodge the flying forks, plates, and knives headed towards the ceiling. In all of his weaving though he had not been able to come out of his turn quick enough to dodge one of the ropes Harry had put in place.

Viktor's gut collided with the rope and his body remained stationary as his broom spurted off to the other side of the Hall where it crashed into a thousand splinters of wood. The impact must have knocked the wind out of Viktor who fell silently down the floor of the Hall with a loud crack and crash. Harry didn't wait to see if it had been enough to knock the Durmstrang Champion out though.

With haste he sprinted over to the middle of the Hall where Viktor had landed and pointed his wand at the large boy.

" _Expelliarmus, stupefy!"_ With two quick flashes of magic Viktor's wand came shooting out of his hands into Harry's and his body fell limp and motionless back onto the ground.

A wheezing breath of air left Harry's lung as he stood over the defeated Durmstrang Champion's body. Harry had had some intense duels over the years but very few that had come close to as intense as that duel had. Viktor had set up a solid strategy and played brilliantly to his strengths. If they had been in any other room of the castle Viktor may have very well wiped the floor with him, thankfully Viktor had chosen the room with the enchanted ceiling and Harry was thankful for that.

He was also thankful that he was coming out of this duel relatively unscathed. Besides being absolutely drenched and tired he had luckily managed to not get hit by any of Viktors spells. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath he took out his wand and pointed it at the ceiling to cancel out the still falling rain and lightning. When the rain ceased he waved his wand over his face and robes with a drying charm.

The Great Hall was a mess to say the least. Huge puddles of water lined the stone floor and the few spots where there were no puddles were filled with piles of food, glass, plates, and silverware. The duel had also been a loud one. Odds were high that if anyone else was still in Hogwarts that they had heard the echoing thunder and spell blastings. Whether those who heard the sounds would chose to come to the source or not he didn't know.

He honestly didn't know if he should remain here or not. On the one hand the Hall had proved to be a useful place to duel against Viktor. On the other hand there was so much debris, water, and junk scattered around the room that he would be forced to combat not only spells but potentially anything in the room.

One thing he did know though is that if Hermione or Marik had been in Hogwarts they would have certainly came to the source of the sounds. Marik would have wanted to join in on the action and Hermione would have set up a million traps for if anyone tried to leave the Hall. The fact that he was standing in the Hall alone still meant that either they were still not in Hogwarts-or worse.

To stay or not to stay was the question of the hour and Harry needed to make up his mind fast. He weighed the pros and cons of both choices for a bit before deciding that it would probably be best to leave the Great Hall. Surprisingly no one else had come in to join in on the fun yet but if he remained here longer someone just might. The longer he stood inside here too the more time someone could be setting up traps for him just outside the Hall.

After slipping Viktor's wand away Harry made his way through the maze of tables and rubble towards the door of the Great Hall. The two wooden doors were still sealed shut so he would have to open them to make his way back into the castle.

" _Specialis revelio, homenum revelio."_ When he made it to the large doors he cast the two revealing spells, the first one looking for any magical traps placed on the doors or floor around the doors, the second searching for another champion lying in wait on the door's other side. Both spells revealed nothing, however, so Harry slowly opened up the doors with his wand. The doors slowly swung open and Harry waited with baited breath for anything to happen.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened though. The stream of illusion students that had been cut off by the door's closing now once again made their ways into the Great Hall and those who had been in the Hall previously began filing out. No spells came raining down on him though and no traps activated, all seemed to be well in the entrance hall.

Harry didn't want to linger there though so he quickly fell into line and began following the students into one of the nearby hallways. He found himself once again wandering aimlessly, a little unsure of where he needed to go or what he should do. Normally plans came to him easy, at least they had throughout the rest of the Triwizards' Tournament.

In the first task he had been calm and collected throughout the task's entirety He had been able to formulate their team's plan in mere seconds and change them at a moment's notice. The same could be said throughout the second task. This task, however, was getting to him and getting under his skin. He was used to being able to lean on his friends strengths and weaknesses for help. This task didn't allow you that comfort though.

Maybe he was too reliant on Hermione and Marik, at least that's what this task was making him think as zero plans or ideas had come to mind so far today. In everything he did he always had Hermione's brilliance and knowledge bank backing him up along with Marik's technique and dueling prowess. Today though all he had was himself and even as confident as he was in himself and his abilities he definitely preferred having his friends behind him to this.

The hallways on the ground floor of the castle seemed unaffected by the duel in the Great Hall. All seemed normal around him and no other champions had come bursting around a corner guns blazing. It was hard to keep his mind focused and from wandering as he turned each corner and wandered down another hallway.

They had discussed this point of the task a number of time throughout their preparation for the final task. Each of the three castles were huge, although with Beauxbatons they had no idea just how huge. They had speculated and wandered as the number of champions dwindled down just how long this task could stretch on for. Some champions could be hiding in one spot like he had done at the start of the task for who knows how long.

Others could be wandering the halls like he was doing now. With three castles and only a few champions in them the odds of finding someone else grew smaller and smaller, which tested one's patience more and more the longer the task went on. And not to beat a dead horse but, again, Harry had little patience left at this point.

None of the illusion students were making their way into the many classrooms lining the east wing's hallway but instead were all continuing in their path towards the grand staircase. The grand staircase was not a place Harry was too keen on going to. Getting stuck on a moving staircase whilst dueling someone was not a promising prospect. However, the grand staircase was the best way to get to other parts of the castle and Harry had covered just about every inch of the dungeons and the ground floor so far.

Begrudgingly he continued along with the other students and made his way over towards the grand staircase. The dozens of moving staircases towered above him in the tall tower as he entered the room. The grand staircase looked just as hectic as it normally did on a typical Hogwarts school day. All around him illusion students moved about and waited for their staircase to arrive. As he waited for the first staircase to rotate back to him he tried to decide which floor he wanted to get off on.

The third and fourth floor were mainly practice rooms and housing rooms. The second floor was almost entirely classrooms and the library. All of the floors had a number of rooms and nooks, any number of which another champion could have decided to hide in. No floor really seemed a better option than the other and in the end he decided just to work his way up the castle and start with the second floor.

The staircase finally swung around to where he was waiting and he piled onto it with the long line of illusion students. He began climbing the familiar staircase at the pace of the other students, his eyes darting from one of the many staircases around and above him to another. As he reached the midpoint of the staircase his instincts flared again. In almost slow motion the trail of a deep black strand of hair in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He craned his neck to get a glimpse of the hair and in one fluid motion spun with his wand raised.

" _Reducto!"_ he called out the blasting spell as he spun. The strand of black hair had belonged to Durmstrang's champion Rosa Westerwelle and his spell had been dead on the spot where she had been walking past him down the stairs. His dark blue spell, however, collided with no body and instead seemed to pass right through the girl where it collided and exploded on the rail behind her, sending stone and rock down to the floor as the staircase continued to swing.

Harry stood planted, confused about the events that had just unfolded. Rosa just continued to walk down the staircase, unfazed and untouched by his explosion spell. She didn't even so much as turn to fight back.

 _What the hell. . ._ He started to think to himself when a flash of red light came into the corner of his eye.

" _Protego totalum!"_ Unsure of where the spell had exactly come from he threw up an area shield around himself. The red spell collided with his shield violently and shook him down to his core.

" _Expelliarmus, glisseo, reducto!"_ Harry barely heard the spell combo echoing off the wall as the spell hitting his shield dissipated but he still wasn't able to pinpoint where in room they were coming from. Three bright colored spells were raining down from somewhere above him.

" _Reducto!_ _Protego!"_ He threw out a random explosion spell onto a random staircase above him before quickly throwing up another shield, hoping that it would be enough to block the three oncoming spells.

His shield withstood against the first spell, however, it never got the chance to block the second two spells. The second spell collided with the staircase he was on and immediately the stairs turned into a steep ramp. Instantly Harry lost his balance and began sliding down the staircase. The only good thing about being slid down the staircase was that the third spell, the blasting spell, hit the part of the staircase he had been moments before and thus missed him.

Rocks and stone exploded on impact with the third spell and a large chunk of the top of the staircase was now missing. Harry continued to slide down the staircase and only managed to just stop himself from making a long plummet down to the floor by grabbing on to the handrail. The staircase was still stuck as a ramp and getting to his feet on it was impossible at the moment; he cursed himself for not remembering the counter spell to the _glisseo_ spell.

" _Absorbulus, locomotor mortis!_ " Harry prepared himself for another onslaught of spells but none came towards him. Instead, as he looked up in the room, he saw the two spells being fired down from one staircase at the top of the room towards one at the middle. He watched closely as the two spells collided with something, and disappeared. Two bright streams of light came soaring from the staircase that the spells had just hit back up towards the top of the room.

To say Harry was a little confused was an understatement. One second he was getting an easy shot on the back of Rosa and the next second he was sliding down the stairs. Now it seemed the spells were all being directed in a whole nother spot.

" _Stupefy, diffindo!"_ Another voice, echoed across the grand staircase. The voice sounded lighter than the one that had cast the spells at him. Did that mean there were two other champions in here with him? If that was the case he was in bad shape, hanging on a ramp in midair while dueling was definitely not a good strategy. He needed to act fast before whoever was in the room with him started firing spells in his direction again.

The staircases started changing again and Harry aimed his wand and waited for his staircase to move to just the right spot.

" _Incarcerous, waddiwakka!"_ Harry shouted out the spell and ropes came soaring out of his wand. The ropes shot up to the wall above the next staircase and stuck in place. Harry pulled himself up to his feet with the tightened rope and began pulling himself up the ramped staircase. Above him the room was filling with flashes of bright light as spells were being sent out chaotically. He squinted his eyes as he made his way up the ramp to try and make out what was going on above him.

He could just barely make out the two figures that were casting the spells. The one in the middle of the room was definitely Rosa Westerwelle. Her long black was flowing wildly behind her as she sprinted up her staircase and threw spells out one after another. Her target Harry could only barely make out but from the long blonde hair; it was either Fleur or Weiss from Beauxbatons. Whichever one it was it meant he had two enemies with him in the grand staircase, and both of them had the high ground on him.

 _Do I let them go at it for a bit and stay out of it or do I try and join the fray._ He thought to himself as he watched the two girls duel. As he stood their watching Rosa turned her casting from her target above and sent two spells down towards Harry.

" _Protego totalum!"_ Harry quickly through up the area shield, trying to protect the staircase this time along with himself. Both of the spells collided with his shield and disappeared.

 _Guess that means I am in this battle too._ He thought as Rosa seemed to have answered his internal questions.

" _Reducto, aisuterra!"_ Harry joined the duel with a quick spell combo of his own. The first spell he aimed at the bottom of the staircase that Rosa was on, blasting a large portion of it off. His second spell was the ice make: ground spell. His hope was that it would turn the staircase Rosa was on into ice and make her slip and fall down it.

His combo seemed to work well as the staircase shook from the explosion of his first spell and sent Rosa slipping down the ice. The Durmstrang champion slid all the way down the staircase and unlike Harry she was unable to grab onto anything to stop her fall and fell right off the staircase down into the open space of the room. In midair Harry watched Rosa close her eyes and with a soft pop she vanished.

" _Confringo!"_ Another soft pop sounded and immediately the exploding flame spell was being cast from the platform above Harry. Harry turned to see Rosa now standing there, a mere ten feet or so away, and her spell coming towards him at high speeds.

" _Finimagus!"_ Harry barely managed to blurt out the dispell, stopping Rosa's spell before it could hit him.

" _Absorbulus, expelliarmus, stupefy!"_ Another spell combo was being fired off this time from a staircase towards Harry's left. Harry turned to see that the third person in the grand staircase had in fact been Fleur, who it appeared had made her way quickly down the staircases and was now firing spells at he and Rosa.

" _Protego totalum!"_ Harry heard Rosa throw up a shield.

" _Bendculum!"_ Harry countered Fleur's spell combo with a bending spell. He bent the path of the green spell headed his way to make it go towards Rosa's shield. All three spells collided with Rosa's shield, which was only just able to deflect all three spells. Rosa was still sent flying backwards from the sheer force of the impact and hit the wall behind hard. The impact didn't seem to shake the Durmstrang Champion that much though as she was back up to her feet in a flash.

" _Stupefy, stupefy!"_ As soon as she landed back on her feet Rosa shot out two more spells, one at Fleur and one at Harry.

" _Protego!"_ Harry threw up a quick shield to block Rosa's stunner. " _Wingardium levimaxima!"_ Harry aimed his second spell at the wall next to him, lifting a dozen or so of the large framed paintings off of the wall and into the air of the room. He controlled them in the air and sent them flying off towards Rosa.

" _Subduco!"_ At the same time as Harry's spell Fleur had cast the spell stealing spell and stolen Rosa's stunner and sent it right back at her as well. With a stunner and a dozen paintings being sent her way Rosa was in a tough spot. Instead of raising her wand and blocking them Rosa again closed her eyes and popped out of sight. Harry scanned the room, looking and listening for the next pop to sound. When it did he immediately found where Rosa had apparated to. One staircase above him and two below Fleur, Rosa had appeared on the platform and was in a full sprint into the hallway it attached to.

It appeared Rosa was now thinking just like Harry that dueling on the grand staircase was not a good idea and was making a break for it. Harry took a split second to decide what to do next. He couldn't let her get away now. If he did it could take him forever again to find her. If he did chase her though would Fleur follow? His eyes darted between the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions.

 _Oh fuck it!_ He mentally screamed and in a sprint shot off up the staircase towards Rosa.

" _Expulso, reducto!"_ As he ran Fleur had thrown two spells off towards him. From her vantage point he was a sitting duck. Again his instincts flared up as the two spells came towards him and in a single stride he transfigured himself and went into his _animagus_ mountain lion form. On four legs he was now much faster and outrunning Fleur's two spells was a breeze.

Skipping up two steps at a time he bounced his way up the staircase and across the platform. Within seconds he was in the same hallway as Rosa who was still in a full sprint. His blood was now pumping and the hair on his nape standing straight up in his _animagus_ form he bolted straight after the Durmstrang champion.

" _Stupefy, displodo!"_ With two quick flicks of her wand over her shoulder Rosa sent a stunner and an explosion spell towards him as he sprinted after her. An angry snarl escaped his mouth as he gritted his teeth and jumped out of the reach of the two spells and continued to close in on the girl. " _Incarcerous!"_ Again, Rosa tried to hit him with a spell cast over her shoulder. A dozen or so ropes came flying out towards harry in his _animagus_ form but he easily was able to slip in between them and continue his pursuit. Quickly he closed the gap between them and with a final pounce leapt out towards her.  
With his two front paws he made contact with Rosa's back and dug his long nails into her shoulders. His momentum and size pushed the girl forwards and towards the ground and as he fell over her he just barely managed to take a small bite at her right shoulder before she hit the ground he toppled over her.

On the ground Rosa screamed out in pain briefly as large drops of blood came spurting out of her shoulder and onto the ground below her. Her scream was cut short though as two beams of light came flying into the hall behind her. In another flash Rosa had a shield up around her and the two beams deflected right off it. Fleur had made her way into the hallway now and once again it was a three way deul. Harry calmed his animal instincts and came out of his _animagus_ form. It was useful to catch up and get a quick attack on Rosa but mountain lions were not known for their dueling ability.

" _Incendius maximus!"_ Rosa screamed out into the hall as her shield vanished. She conjured a large, steady stream of flames from her wand and began whipping it around her at the center of the hallway. Harry was forced to dive out of the way as one of the tendrils of the flame came close to him.

" _Schneezzard!_ " Fleur cast the blizzard spell on the other side of the hallway and at once the hall was filled with a mixture of both fire and ice. Large pools of water dripped to the floor as the flames melted the ice and large flame patterned ice sculptures were formed all around them.

" _Aeriacta!"_ Harry cast the wind explosion spell at the nearest tower of ice. The spell exploded the ice into a hundred smaller pieces which were then carried in the wind of his spell down the hall towards his two opponents.

" _Impedimenta, Reducto!"_ Rosa turned to his spell and slowed the incoming ice before turning back to Fleur and sending a blast spell her way.

" _Expelliarmus, erecto!"_ Fleur managed to get off a quick disarming spell before summoning up the stone floor below her to block Rosa's blast spell. Rosa still had her back to Harry as she braced herself to defend against Fleur's disarming spell. This was Harry's chance, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind.

" _Legidisco!"_ Just as Rosa raised her wand to cast the shield spell Harry cast his mind magic spell. The _legidisco_ spell was one of the first mind magic spells that he had mastered. It caused the target to temporarily forget the action or spell they were just about to do until the spell is lifted. So instead of throwing up a shield Rosa stood their with a blank look on her face and Fleur's spell hit her dead on.

Rosa's body was sent flying backwards across the hall as the disarming spell hit her and her wand went soaring off into Fleur's hands. The Durmstrang Champion landed on the floor with a thud and remained there, unmoving. For a few seconds the hallway was quiet and the only sound was his and Fleur's heavy breathing.

"Hermione says hi," Fleur shouted out from the other side of the hall. Her wand was still raised and pointed right at him.

Harry had spent enough of this year with the French girl to say he knew her fairly well. The look she currently had on her face was not her normal dimpled smile, but more of the look he remembered her having during the summer dueling tournaments, one of ferocity and competitiveness. Friends or not, it was clear from her body language that Fleur meant to win.

"You saw her? That means . . ." his voice trailed off as the realisation of her words dawned on him.

"Yes, I beat her. Though, the troll and Weiss really did most of the work for me to be fair," Fleur replied. His grip tightened around his wand at the news of Hermione's defeat. He knew Fleur was good duelist, he had seen that first hand a number of times, but for her to beat Hermione. . .

"And Marik?" he asked, curious to know if Fleur had seen him.

"Haven't seen him." Harry wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Who all have you seen?" he asked another question, curious to know who all was left in the tournament.

"Harry, I don't think now is the time to talk," Fleur laughed.

"Oh, yeah, right," he nodded in agreement.

"Shall we do this then?" Fleur asked with an arched brow, her wand still raised.

"Yeah, I guess we should," Harry replied and did a quick bow to her, a symbol of respect towards his opponent before the duel began. Fleur returned his bow with a slight curtsey and allowed him to raise his wand to meet hers.

" _Absorbulus!"_ Fleur began their duel with a spell that Harry did not know.

" _Transmorgo!"_ He countered her green spell with a spell of his speciality. His transfiguration spell collided with Fleur's at the hall's center and he transfigured the spell to a _lumos_ _maxima_ spell. Just before the hall was filled with blinding light he closed his eyes, rolled to his right, and raised his wand again. " _Expelliarmus, confundus!"_ Quickly he cast the disarming and confusion spell through the blinding light while Fleur was distracted.

" _Sorphere!"_ Fleur shouted out another spell Harry had never heard of. All of the magic in the hallway contracted on itself, including all of the _lumos_ light and his two spells. As the magic contracted it formed a flowing ball of magic at the room's center. With a slash of her wand Fleur cut right through the ball of magic and in room shaking burst all of the magic was released outwards towards Harry.

" _Protego totalum!"_ Fleur's magic was moving at such intense speeds he was forced to go on the defensive and throw up a shield. His shield was able to hold back the magic but the force of the spell's power pushed him and his shield about twenty feet down the hall before it stopped.

 _Holy shit! What the bloody hell was that!_ He thought to himself as the spell's last traces of magic ended. It appeared Fleur had some tricks up her sleeves. That was okay, so did he.

" _Flipendo, stupefy!"_ As soon as his shield vanished he went back on the offensive with a quick spell chain. The first spell was a knock back spell followed by a stunner with his second spell.

" _Finite incantatum! Avis!"_ Fleur banished his spells and countered with a spell that she had used on Marik back in their first year dueling tournament. A dozen birds were conjured out of thin air and were now flying towards Harry.

" _Impedimenta, expulso!"_ Harry first slowed the birds and proceeded to follow that up with a powerful explosion spell. Each of the conjured birds vanished into thin air as his spell collided with them.

" _Stupefy, fulminous!"_ Fleur was not letting up on her offensive attack. As soon as the birds vanished she was sending a powerful stunner and lightning beam spell back towards him.

" _Subduco, protego!"_ His first spell, the spell stealing spell, was aimed at Fleur's lightning spell. He stole the spell and sent it right back at her. Fleur's stunner bounced right off of his shield.

" _Protego!_ " Fleur threw up a quick shield as she was forced to block her own lightning bolt.

" _Expelliarmus, legilacordus!"_ Harry's next spell combo took a lot of energy out of him and could go bad very quick if he did not focus. His first spell was just another distraction to keep Fleur on the defensive. His second spell was another one of his mind magic spells.

The _legilacordus_ spell was of the best mind magic spells to use in tough situations during a duel. It caused the target of the spell to see a memory of the caster instead of the actual caster. In this case the memory that Harry had planted in the spell was one of him sprinting across the floor as his _animagus_ towards Rosa. As long as Fleur didn't have any strong mental shields up at the moment the spell would have no problems and Fleur would see his _animagus_ running across the hall towards her instead of him standing there facing her.

Fleur's _protego_ easily managed to block her own lightning spell and his stunner and as soon as it vanished he waited with baited breath. Fleur's eyes turned from where he was standing to a spot on the ground a few feet in front of her.

" _Absorbulus, stupefy, reducto!"_ Fleur threw out a powerful spell combo, thankfully, not actually at him but instead at random spots in the hall where Harry could only guess his memory had been running. Once again he focused his mind and cleared his thoughts.

" _Legobarodo, stupefy!"_ Harry sent one final powerful spell combo at Fleur. The first spell was one of the hardest mind magic spells that he currently knew. The spell sent an endless stream of distracting thoughts into the target's mind, incapacitating them until it is lifted. The spell broke through Fleur's mind and in an instant she had both hands on her head and had dropped to her knees. Harry only kept the spell active for a split second, not wanting to do his friend any irreparable damage.

As soon as his stunner was inches away from Fleur he lifted his mind magic spell. Before Fleur could even open her eyes his stunner nailed her square in the chest. The French witch was sent rocketing backwards down the hallway. Harry kept his wand fixed on her, ready to cast at even a twitch of movement. Fleur didn't move though. Harry stood their in the hallway, his breath heavy and his body shaking as the exhaustion of three duels piled on him.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as loud pops and hissing sounds sounded from somewhere outside. He ran over to the window of the hallway to look outside, expecting to see two champions dueling out on the grounds.

It wasn't someone dueling, however, it was fireworks in the colors of the four Hogwart's houses bursting in the sky above the astronomy tower. A smile came over his face as he watched them explode into the night's sky one after another. A large snake was slithering around in the sky only to be replaced with a roaring lion seconds later.

It was a beautiful sight to behold, only made better by the meaning behind each of the fireworks in the sky. They were signaling the end of the final task of the Triwizards' Tournament; they were signalling that Hogwarts had won.

* * *

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	67. Book4: Chapter 21

_**Author Note:**_

 _So, I bring to with this chapter both good news and bad news. I'll start with the good. The good news is that with this chapter book four finally has come to a close! We have made it through another book of the series and what an exciting one it was! The Triwizards' Tournament saga has come to a close and the good news is that it doesn't end here! While the characters in our story have already come so far, they all still have so much further to go! Which leads me to the bad news(I'm sorry!) The bad news is that you will have to be patient for a little while. Book 5 has been the biggest undertaking I have ever done. To give you some perspective, book five is already 110k words long, book four as a whole was 156k long, and book 5 is not even halfway done. I would venture to even say that Book 5 is not a quarter of the way done!_

 _Along with just the sheer length that book 5 will end up being, with each and every book I try to become a better writer. I am trying to put my best stuff into book 5, therefore I am taking a lot more time with it. Book 5 is where the series breaks free from all its chains and truly the series begins. So many things have been building up to this moment and book five is where we see it all happen. I hope this gets you more excited for book 5 and does not dissuade you from sticking around._

 _This all being said I often times am unclear with my author notes so I just want to set it all out. 1. The series is not over! I am slaving away to finish book 5 each and everyday and as soon as I finish the last chapter and get all of my edits done I will again start posting to the series, but not a second before I finish the last chapter! 2. In the meantime I will still be checking the forum, my messages, and the reviews everyday. So feel free to reach out to me or post there in the meantime! Your words are the best fuel to my fire and the best way to help me along and finish this quicker is through your words. 4. Lastly, thank you to all my readers who have stuck out with the series this far! You mean so much to me and your support has helped me out so much not only with this series but in life as a whole._

 _A lot of readers of fanfic don't quite understand how truly hard it is to write and create something of your own, and especially how hard it is to write something this large. Over 19 months of my life have been spent with this series in the back of my mind. While it is nowhere near perfect(trust me I have wanted to rewrite it a thousand times and I most likely will once I finish the first draft of it all) it has surpassed what I ever could have imagined it could. And it is all thanks to you guys! So, I apologize that you will have to wait a little while for book 5, I will try to go fast! But I hope you enjoy the last chapter of book 4 and have enjoyed everything up until now._

 _Until the next chapter!_

 **Hermione**

"Oh-my-god!" She whimpered out through heavy breaths as Harry rolled off her and layed next to her in his bed. "That was incredible."

"Yeah-incredible," Harry replied, his breath just as heavy as hers as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"You are incredible," she rolled over on her side to face him, her cheeks hurting a little from the large smile plastered all over her face as she stared at her man.

"I know," Harry joked with a smile before rolling over on his side to face her and giving her another peck on the lips.

"I love you."

"I love you, Hermione."

"God, I'm going to miss this school," Hermione pouted, finally starting to catch her breath.

"I don't know how much I'll miss the school, but I definitely will miss you being able to sneak into my bedroom all the time," Harry replied.

"If only I was a Gryffindor," she tried to imagine the prospect of her being a lion, as much as she would have enjoyed being in the same house as Harry it was hard to picture her anywhere else but Ravenclaw.

"I would have failed all of my classes if we were in the same house. I would've been too busy sneaking out into the common room at night to meet you for some late night snogging and never got any sleep!" Harry joked.

"I can't believe you think I am the type of girl to sneak out for some late night snogging Mr. Potter!" she quipped.

"So you don't want to see if Hogwart's astronomy tower is as romantic at night as Durmstrang's is with me tonight for some late night snogging?" Harry asked her seductively, bringing his face inches from hers.

"Of course I do!" She quickly replied, kissing his lips.

"Mhmm I thought so!" Harry laughed as their lips parted.

"You know me too well. I'm gonna miss our tower here," she replied sadly. Though they had only been back to their tower one other night since the Yule Ball she would always hold it in a special place in her heart.

"I am to, we will have to make an excuse one day to come back and visit Durmstrang, even if it is to just visit our tower."

"Are you two re-OH MY GOD! MY EYES!" Marik screamed from the doorway as he walked into the room. Hermione dove under the covers as quickly as she could to hide and cover herself.

"MARIK!" she screamed out at him from under the covers.

"Hermione since when do you have a tattoo on your ass?" Marik shouted.

"I do not!" she screamed back, her cheeks reddening.

"You guys got in here two hours ago! How the hell are you both not-finished and clothed yet!" Marik replied, his voice filled with shock.

"Well see what had happened was-we were finished, then we decided to, well, not be finished and go agai-OW!" Harry started to say but jumped under the covers when she pinched him before he said more than Marik needed to know.

"Yeah, I didn't need to know that. Well you're both finished now, we don't have much more time. Both of you get dressed so I can actually see my girlfriend off before she gets shipped back to France," Marik ordered.

"Fine!" Harry groaned out as his head fell back to the pillow. Hermione peeked her head out from under the covers.

"Um Marik," she mumbled.

"Yeah Mione?" Marik asked, his eyes still closed and covered by his hands.

"Could you go outside for a second so I can get dressed?" she insisted.

"Oh yeah, right, right, sorry!" Marik turned to face the door, knocking his knee on the frame as he did so. "Son of a bitch! I'll wait for you both out in the hall, just be quick. Oh, and Harry."

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"Nice butt!" Marik laughed and was out of the door just before the pillow Harry had thrown could hit him.

"He's right you know," she said to Harry as she rubbed her hand down his chest.

"About what?

"You do have a cute butt!" she gave Harry's bum a quick pinch and was immediately engulfed in a full body tackle.

It took them a little while to get out of bed and dressed after that but eventually they somehow managed. Today was their last day at the Durmstrang Institute. Classes had all come to an end a few days ago and the last few days following the end of the Triwizards' Tournament had been spent finishing up end of year projects and packing.

They had expected the end of the year to be hectic and crazy but to be honest Hermione and her friends had been disappointed in the lack of celebration at the conclusion of the tournament. She had woken up in the hospital wing the night after the final task to find that all of Hogwarts had already returned home and that life inside the German school had returned to normal. Dumbledore had come to congratulate them all in the hospital wing briefly but other than that it was as if the whole tournament had never even taken place. She had ventured to guess that the lack of celebration was due to a Hogwarts team winning at the Durmstrang school. But still, she had been disappointed to say the least.

With all of their wounds healed and their projects finished she and Harry had spent their last few days trying to make as many _good_ memories as they could in the castle. Much to Marik's dismay Hermione had spent more hours inside Harry's room than he had this past week.

All in all she was going to miss Durmstrang a little when they left. This year had been a good one in her books and although she was welcoming their return to Hogwarts and Britain she was sure she would miss certain things about the school.

"Took you two long enough!" Marik scoffed as they made their way out into the hallway and started towards the dining hall.

"Sorry, we got-distracted," Harry apologized as he wrapped his hand around her waist.

"Eww! I didn't need to hear that either!" Marik groaned.

"Oh stop being so jealous!" she replied.

"Jealous? I am certainly not jealous of you two horny teenagers," Marik tried to argue.

"He is definitely jealous," Harry whispered into her ear.

"Definitely," she whispered back.

"I heard that!" Marik called out.

The main hall of Durmstrang was filled to the brim with students from each of the three schools. Everyone was saying their last goodbyes to their friends and acquaintances from the other schools before they all headed home. She wasn't sure why but it made her happy to see everyone from the different schools together and getting along like this. Their entire year most of the students in the other schools had felt like rivals and enemies but now everyone here looked like they were the best of friends.

"There you finally are!" a voice called out from the crowd. Hermione turned to its source to see Fleur emerge from a group of Beauxbatons students and head over to them.

"Blame the two horny harpies behind me!" Marik replied as he wrapped Fleur in a hug.

"Sounds like you both had a _good_ goodbye then," Fleur said with a smile and gave Hermione a wink.

"That we certainly did," she replied, pulling Harry's body closer to hers.

"Its hard to believe this is all coming to an end already. I was getting used to having Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students in the same school. Its gonna be weird going back to just Hogwart's students," Harry added.

"It did all go by fast didn't it?" Fleur admitted.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Marik added.

"I wasn't having any fun," Fleur joked.

"And I'm leaving!" Marik blurted and pretended to leave.

"Oh come here baby! You know I had fun this year!" Fleur, insisted as she grabbed Marik and pulled him back into a hug and gave him a loud kiss.

"Well we will give you two lovebirds a moment alone. Marik, we will wait for you outside. Take your time," Harry stated and pulled Hermione towards the front door.

"You better wait!" Marik called after them.

"Oh Hermione!" Fleur called out to her.

"Yes?"

"Write me as soon as you get to your house in Paris. We have a long list of places to go and things to do this summer and I am not letting you get out of it!" Fleur ordered.

"I will, I promise! See you later Fleur!" she replied.

"Bye!"

"Was there anyone else you wanted to say goodbye to?" Harry asked as they made their way outside.

"Nope, think I'm all goodbye'd out for the day. You?"

"I'm all good to," Harry answered.

"I feel bad for them," Hermione confessed as they walked the cobbled path leading to the site of their portkey.

"Who is them?" Harry asked.

"Marik and Fleur," she replied.

"Why do you feel bad for them? They both looked happy as always to me."

"Because, who knows when they will get to see eachother again. And even if they see each other over the summer they will have to part ways again when the school year starts. I just couldn't imagine not getting to see you everyday or not knowing when I may see you next," she replied, a little embarrassed at admitting how attached she was. It was true though.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. They will find a way to make it work I'm sure. Marik is certainly wrapped around her finger tight enough that I have no doubt he will do whatever it takes to make it work," Harry replied.

"I hope so, they are cute together and Fleur is good for Marik."

"Not as good as you are for me," Harry spun her in front of her, catching her off guard and dipping her by the waist where he then kissed her again lightly.

"Alright you two, enough of that!" A stern voice ordered from behind them. Hermione opened her eyes only to immediately blush bright red as she put McGonagall's face to the words.

"Professor! Sorry!" she and Harry mumbled out in unison. McGonagall only continued to stare at them.

"Where is the final member of the trio? I'm not used to seeing him not attached to one of your hips," Professor McGonagall asked them.

"He will be here shortly Professor, he was saying his goodbyes," Harry replied and they stood in silence for a few awkward moments.

"By the way, why are you here Professor? I thought the Headmaster was supposed to see us home," she asked Professor McGonagall. So far this year she had only seen their transfiguration professor's familiar face a few times and was surprised to see it again here at Durmstrang now.

"Dumbledore was called back to the castle to attend to-something this morning so he asked me to take care of the escort. Is that okay with you Miss Granger?"

"Yes mam, sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that," she apologized for sounding rude.

"By the way Miss Granger, I was going to wait to tell you later tonight but seeing as we have some free time here while we wait for the last few students I have some good news for you," Professor McGonagall started to say.

"You do? What is it?" Hermione asked, unable to hide her anxiousness and excitement. There were few times where someone like Professor McGonagall said anything that was good news.

"Well, my contact in the French Paper, _Le Monde_ , I told you and Professor Snape about replied to me this morning."

"What did they say?" Hermione interrupted.

"She said that your essay and research on potential substitutes in the burn healing elixir was enlightening and inspiring. She was very surprised when I told her that you were only a fourth year. Anyways, she wanted me to ask you to send her any more information on the subject that you can and that if you are interested she would like to conduct an interview with you this summer for an article in the paper."

"Are you serious?" Hermione asked her transfiguration Professor in disbelief.

"Miss Granger, in your four years at Hogwarts have you ever known me to be anything but serious?" Professor McGonagall asked her with an unamused expression.

"Good point! This is incredible! I thought that essay was some of my poorer work, I can't believe she thought it was that good!"

"Hermione, you think everything you do isn't your best work. That paper was brilliant and you know it!" Harry interjected.

"You have to say that Harry!" she argued. Of course her boyfriend had to say something sweet like that.

"I don't _have_ to say anything Hermione," Harry started to counter.

"Yeah, okay Harry," she interjected with a smile and gave him a peck on the cheek. He said the cutest things sometimes.

"Well done," Professor McGonagall whispered towards her with a smile.

"Well, congratulations Hermione on getting another interview," Harry added.

"Who is getting an interview? Please tell me we don't have to do another interview? I will literally die if I have to do another interview!" Marik chimed in from behind them.

"Nice of you to finally join us Mr. Ose. I was just telling your friend Miss Granger that she was offered an interview and an article piece for the essay she recently submitted to me," McGonagall announced to Marik.

"The one on the burn elixir? Congrats Mione that's awesome!" Marik replied.

"Thanks Marik."

"So how many articles is that now, eight?" Harry asked her.

"Eleven actually, if you count the one I helped Dumbledore with on the unicorn stable for the _Prophet_ ," she answered.

"Eleven now? Damn, and here I think me and Harry both have managed one so far," Marik chuckled.

"I have published _two_ articles I'll have you know! And four if you count the ones Mcgonagall and her partner published with mentions of me in it!" Harry attempted to counter.

"Yeah, we don't count that," she and Marik said in unison. Harry crossed his arms and mumbled something under his breath in defeat.

"Now that everyone has arrived I need everyone to arrange themselves into groups of three and take a portkey. Come now," McGonagall announced to them and the rest of the Hogwarts students gathered around their portkey departure location.

Hermione took a portkey, which this time was large quill feather, from the Professor and held it out so that Harry and Marik could grab ahold.

"Guess this is the final goodbye huh?" she thought out loud as she looked back over Durmstrang's ground one final time.

"Guess so," Harry replied.

"And good riddance!" Marik quipped.

One after another small pops sounded around them as prokeys went off. Hermione braced herself for theirs. The feeling was one that she still had trouble getting used to. Pop after pop sounded and she waited for her world to spin.

"Ummm, soo. . ." Marik mumbled after a few minutes of the last pop sounding. Hermione followed his gaze and saw that every other group had been portkeyed away except for them.

"Yeah. . ." Harry replied, his face a mixture of confusion and concern.

"Guys?" she asked, a little panic in her voice.

"Did we fuck something up?" Marik asked them, leaning in closer to look at the quill feather portkey.

"Don't let go!" she screamed at him as his fingers lost their hold for a brief second.

"Sorry jeez!"

"Sorry Marik, the last thing we need to happen is for one of us to get stranded here."

"I don't think we did anything wrong? How can you fuck up a portkey? You just hold it and wait," Harry said.

"Maybe Professor McGonagall didn't activate ours?" she proposed.

"I doubt Professor McGonagall would make a mistake as big as that," Harry replied.

"Well what else could it be? It's been at least five minutes since the last portkey went off, something has to be wrong," Marik pointed out.

"Maybe we should go to the castle and tell the Headmaster-" Hermione started to say but her sentence got cut off as her world started spinning violently. Twist after turn and bend after bend her body was squeezed and stretched through the portkey. As always, just as she began to grow accustomed to the feeling the spinning slow and her feet landed on solid ground.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" a deafening roar sounded as soon as Hermione's feet hit the ground. Large volumes of applause, cheering, congratulations, and the music of the Hogwarts school song rang through her ears. She fell into shock as her eyes adjusted to the sight before her.

She had arrived in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, which was currently filled to the rafters with students and decorated on its every inch. Three house banners hung from the ceiling one for each of her, Harry's, and Marik's houses. Fireworks had replaced the night sky on the enchanted ceiling and every so often one of them exploded out into one of their names. Above the teacher's table a large banner was strung from one side of the hall to the other. _Congratulations to our Triwizards' Champions_ was written in enchanted ink on it and sparkled and glittered in the light of the Hall.

Everyone in the Hall was standing on their feet. The spectacle looked like one you would see at a house quidditch game or over the summer dueling tournament. At the Ravenclaw table a number of students had tee shirts with custom writing or pictures on it, others were holding signs that they had made. Hermione read at least two signs that were flashing _Hermione is our Hero_ in Ravenclaw colors and a few dozen shirts that had _Go Granger Go_ painted on them.

Over on the other house tables things were much the same. She saw dozens of signs and shirts dedicated to and cheering on Harry and Marik as well. It was a breathtaking sight and one that was bringing tears to her eyes. She had been told everyone at Hogwarts was cheering them on but she had no idea it was like this. This was incredible.

At the Hufflepuff table Alina had managed to make her way on top of the table and was waving a giant flag that had a picture of the three of them printed on it. Filch was pulling at Alina's ankle, trying desperately in the mob of students to pull Alina down but was failing miserably from the looks of things.

At the top of the Hall all of the professors were giving them a standing ovation, all of them, even Snape, had proud smiles across their faces. In front of the teacher's table, at the center of the room, the Triwizard Cup was placed on a pedestal, gleaming and glowing in all of its elegance. Next to the cup was a group of people, a group that took Hermione a few seconds to recognize. There was Professor Kingsley and his wife Majesty standing next to him. Next to the Shackle bolts Hermione spotted both of Harry's parents, with huge, proud, smiles plastered across their faces. And lastly, next to them Hermione spotted her father and mother, both of which were smiling and looking right at her.

Hermione had to pinch herself and rub her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was real. Never in her life did she expect to be standing in the Great Hall and see her parents. After confirming that they were real she bolted towards them in a full on sprint. She jumped into their arms when she arrived at the front of the hall, pulling both of them closely into her as tears of joy escaped her eyes.

"Hermione, dear you are going to break your father's back again if you keep squeezing him like that," her mother joked.

"Sorry! I just can't believe you both are here! How? Why?" she barely managed to stammer out the words.

"Dumbledore told us about this a while ago so your mother and I took off from work so that we could come. He brought us here a little a while ago through the floo," her father answered.

"You knew about this and you didn't tell me?" she asked, pouting a little that they had kept this a secret from her.

"Well we couldn't spoil the surprise now could we!" her mother replied as they broke their hug off.

"Well I'm so happy to see you both! I love you!" she told them through tears, all of this had quickly become too much for her to handle.

"We love you to Hermione. And congratulations dear," her father said and gave her a peck on the cheek. Before their conversation could continue the sound of someone chiming their glass rang through the Hall. Hermione and her family turned to see the Headmaster standing behind the podium.

"If I could have everyone's attention please. At this time I would like to ask the families of the Champions to please return to their table," the Headmaster pointed at a table set up near the front of the room that Hermione had missed earlier. "I would also like our three Champions to remain where they are for a brief moment." They stood where they were as their parents gave final hugs and kisses and made their way over their table. Dumbledore slowly made his way down from the podium to stand next to them by the cup.

"Since the creation of the Triwizards' Tournament very few witches and wizards have had the honor of participating in the tournament; even fewer have had the great honor of being named Champion. The three students standing proudly to my left have achieved a number of notable titles and honorable achievements in the little time that they have been students within these walls; achievements that many students that have come and gone would only have dreamed of achieving.

"Today, however, you three have achieved something that very few in history have. An achievement that will go down in the magical history texts of Europe and be read by students like yourselves for many years to come. Today you three have earned a title that you will carry with you for the rest of your lives and a title that should be worn as a badge of honor for the rest of your days.

"The Triwizards' Tournament is a task that you three have not only been fighting for yourselves but for all of Hogwarts, and all of magical Britain. The fact that this cup finds itself within the halls of Hogwarts today is proof of the power and determination of a culmination of everyone. These three could never have been named Triwizard Champions had it not been for all of the students in this castle competing against them inside and outside the classroom to be the best they can be.

"These three would not be standing here had it not been for the dedication and hardwork that the determined professors behind me have provided everyday of the school year. And most importantly, these three would not be standing here today had it not been for their loving families here with us today. Their achievement today is a moving testament and reflection of their families and loved ones.

"Hermione Granger-Marik Ose-Harry Potter, the three of you are the clearest image of what a true friendship should be. You have pushed one another to the edge countless times throughout this year but throughout your struggles and trials your bounds of friendship remained strong. Myself, your families, Hogwarts, and all of Britain thank you for your friendship; and we thank you for bringing the Triwizard Cup back home to Hogwarts. Everyone here today, I ask you to rise one final time and please give a round of applause for your Hogwarts, Triwizard Champions!"

Dumbledore finished his speech and once again everyone in Great Hall was on their feet, screaming and clapping, cheering and shouting; Everyone of them cheering for her and her friends. To say that she had been unable to hold back the tears would be a vast understatement. The floodgates had opened only a few words into Dumbledore's moving speech and by now she was sure she had a puddle of tears beneath her feet.

The feeling of being a Triwizard Champion was only now finally starting to settle in. Flashbacks of all of the hard work, all of the late nights, all of the tears, and all the pains and blood came streaming through her mind as she looked out over the Hall. Nothing in her life had ever been as challenging as this year had. Juggling task preparations with school had been a great challenge on its own, that combined with actually competing in the tasks had been near impossible.

Being a Triwizard Champion was one of the sweetest feelings she had ever had; it was only made sweeter by the fact that she had earned the title with two of her best friends. The memories of her year at Durmstrang would always be highlighted by the times she had spent with them.

"Hermione," a soft voice whispered into her ear from beside her. She turned to see Harry, a bright smile on his face. "Help us hold up the cup?" She turned her gaze from Harry over towards the Triwizards' Cup and made her way in between Harry and Marik next to it.

"On three?" Marik asked them.

"On three," she replied.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" they shouted in unison as together they raised the cup up high into the air of the Hall and once again everyone in Hogwarts burst into another round of applause; celebrating a Hogwarts victory in the Triwizards' Tournament.

* * *

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 ****Please Check out the Open Polls on my Profile Page!****


	68. Author's Note

So I have some news, big news. I will let you all decide on whether it is good or bad. This series has been an important part of my life for around two years now. I created my first google doc for the series back in May of 2016 and ever since it has played a pivotal role in my life. It has helped me fight back against my depression and it has given me motivation to pick up and start a number of things that I never would have before.

I had two main motivators for starting this series way back then. The first was that I wanted to practice creative writing so that one day I could write and create a new world of my own. I was awful at grammar(and still am), had no idea how to brainstorm, and could barely put a solid paragraph together. This series was meant to be practice for all of this and more so that one day, when I finally decided to write something new I would be prepared.

The second motivator was that I was sick of reading fanfics that were unfinished. I hated the feeling of reading 200k words only to be left with a cliffhanger that will never be finished. I wanted to write a long series that people could get lost in for a long time and at the end could be satisfied with its ending. I have not forgotten these motivators and still wish to continue achieving the both of them, however, I need to be happy again with series first.

Like I said before, when I started this series I had no experience in writing. While I don't have much now I atleast have a little more than before. When I started writing this I had no idea where the story was going, what character was going to do what, or even what the next chapter was going to be about. I simply just woke up in the morning and wrote and went to sleep thinking about the next chapter.

This has been how I have done things for pretty much the past two years and honestly it worked better than it ever should have. However, writing this series this way has only dug a hole that has continued to get deeper with each and every chapter and to be as blunt as I can be, I'm not happy with the hole I have dug.

Fanfic is a hobby and something I enjoy doing, but as I came to a finish in book 5 and looked back over what I had written with the series so far I just wasn't happy with things. There are too many parts of the series I have been wanting to go back and change or fix for years but havent for the sake of just finishing the damn thing. I have grown as a writer with each and every chapter and when I look back at some of the early chapters I cringe at what I wrote and it kills me not to go back and redo it.

I kept thinking of you, my readers, and hating that I was making you wait for the next chapter so I just continued to push myself to just finish things up. I know as a fan of fanfic how much it sucks waiting weeks on end for your magic fix. This has been an internal struggle of mind that I have been battling out in my head for over a month now: keep writing with what you have now and just finish the series as is, or go back now and do a rewrite and edit and make a much more polished and better series that you can be happier with.

It was a tough internal debate but in the end the decision for me was clear. I need to enjoy what I am doing and be proud of my work, and it was clear to me that I wasn't entirely proud of the current status of fate's four. I had too many plot holes, too many poor plots, I forgot too many things that I set up, my descriptions and settings were not good, and most importantly I could have done a much better job with my characters and world. There were so many things that I looked back on and was not happy with and It felt like a waste of time to just keep writing on and trying to avoid the problems when I could just take a little more time and fix them.

So it is with a heavy heart that I tell you this, I will be taking an extended amount of time to do a rewrite of the series, starting from the very beginning, chapter one. I will be going back and making major changes that I feel will make this series a much better read and enhance the series as a whole. I want to be happy with my work, so I am going to take as much time as I need to bring the series up to a higher level and work on it until I am satisfied. How long this will take I have no idea but I feel it is necessary for my own wellbeing to do so.

The good news is that I am still working on the series as a whole. So for those of you that have stuck around this long have no fear, Fate's Four is not getting abandoned. I would like to thank you all for your reviews and kind words so far. The hardest part of making this decision was how I thought you all might take the news. Please don't hate me too much! I promise I will give the series my all and that it will return better than ever. Thank you for your understanding and always feel free to message me or leave a review if you wish to talk, your words are always good motivation to get me pulling all nighters! Thanks again!

Ps. I also changed my profile name on the series lol so it is no longer OseRS and is now WTFFanfic. Too many people kept yelling at me for inserting myself into the series since my profile name was Ose and a character had the same last name. The profile was named after the character but that became too hard to explain a 1000 times that my name isn't ose lol.

Ps Ps. I would also love to have a beta reader to help me with this rewrite. I can only go so far on my own and having someone to bounce ideas off of and help edit would make a world of difference. IF this is something you would be seriously interested in please PM me!


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